The Beast of Moonacre Valley
by Wildespeaks
Summary: Maria has returned from boarding school after two years abroad and she is once again told to keep out of the woods. Lies are uncovered, the past is revealed, Maria's life is altered, and the timeless question remains: Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
1. Returning Home

Summary: Maria was sent off to boarding school at the age of sixteen by her Uncle Sir Benjamin to better her education after two years of learning from her governess. Now she returns as a young woman, ready to come out into society, but she is not the same Maria and not everything has remained the same at Moonacre Valley.

A/N: Generally women are out in society around 16 or 17, but I wanted Maria to be a little bit older.

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><p>Four years; it had been four years since Maria had saved Moonacre valley and put an end to both the curse and hatred between the Merryweathers and the De Noirs. She had been so young, so pure hearted, and wild; a fourteen year old girl with a mission and a large repertoire of friends. Now she is eighteen, coming out in society, and not as brave, pure hearted, and wild as she had once been. That is not to say she is completely downtrodden and that all has fallen apart; no, her surroundings, her friends, had not changed very much at all since she had saved them. No, it was she that had changed.<p>

Or at least, that's what she'd tried to tell herself when the coach paused at the gate to Moonacre Valley and her driver proceeded to alight from his station to unlock it. Memories of her first coming to Moonacre flooded her mind, a fond smile growing on her pale, now freckle-less face. Then, as quickly as it came, her smile fell and her somber mood from before returned. The pull of the horses suddenly moving startled her from her reveries, her brow slightly furrowing as she focused on the scenery outside her coach compartment. The familiar roads of her home, or what had become her home for the few years she had lived there, occupied her mind just enough to be able to tear her mind away from whatever depressed thoughts had been swirling around in her head.

"We're here missus." The voice of the driver fell upon deaf ears after so many hours of silence, but was soon recognized when the coach came to a lurching halt. Maria quickly clutched at the door to the coach, stabilizing herself enough to be able to return to a regular sitting position. She let go of it quickly as it was pulled from her grasp, her hand soon finding that of a familiar one.

"My darling Maria!" The voice of her uncle brought a smile to Maria's face as she was helped from the coach, a sudden moment of childish joy causing her to propel forward and hug her father-figure. Her uncle let out a loud laugh and pulled her into a hug, stumbling backwards as he did so, but not letting go.

"Uncle!" Maria felt fourteen again as she descended, although this time her booted feet touched the ground easily while her long dark curly red locks flew from their restraints.

"Maria! You must act with a little more decorum!" The shrill voice of Miss. Heliotrope, now Mrs. Digweed, seemed to break the sound barrier as she tried to chastise her ward as she acted improperly.

"Oh Miss. Heliotrope, how I've missed you!" Maria cried as she released her uncle to hug her governess, paying little mind to the woman's cries for propriety as she continued her round of hugging her loved ones, ending with her Aunt Loveday.

"Maria, you look so beautiful, darling. I'm so happy to see you! Oh, I've got so many new animals for you to meet! Oh and father and Robin will be by soon to welcome you home, they've been held up in the woods. I'm sure Robin will tell you all about it. Come along now, back to your old room!" Loveday ushered her into the house, ignoring her husband's wish to see his niece more and the voices of all the other occupants of the house.

"We've kept it up just as it was. I know you're older, but still, I thought you might like to be in a familiar setting. Also, if you feel the need to escape, the passageway still works." Maria nearly hit her head on the entryway as she made her way into her room at Loveday's last statement while she turned, her eyebrow lifting in questioning.

"What do you-?" Maria started, but the door was closed and Loveday was gone before she even heard the soft 'thud' of the wood sliding shut. Confused, but not daring to question anything that happened in Moonacre, Maria stood up to her full height and glanced about the room. Everything was, indeed, as she had left it at the age of sixteen. In fact, the bowler hat Robin had bequeathed to her on her fifteenth birthday still hung on the head of the Unicorn statue on of her fireplace. Another smile etched itself across her face as she strode towards the hat, its velvet texture and resemblance to Robin's own hat bringing up memories of times when she was happy. With care she plucked the hat from its resting place and perched it atop her head, not caring at the moment how society perceived her and glad Loveday had thought to give her a time to collect herself as memories of the article and their adventures swarmed her.

"Maria?" With a gasp of surprise Maria turned quickly towards the door, pulling the hat off her head and hiding it behind her back in an attempt to conceal its existence.

"Maria?" A knock resounded on her door and she rolled her eyes at herself before placing the hat back on its perch and striding to the door, opening it hastily so that she could easily speak to the man on the other side.

"Yes, Uncle?" Maria crouched ever so slightly so that she could easily speak to her last surviving blood relative, a smile plastered on her face as she questioned him.

"The De Noir's aren't to be here until tomorrow, as they have been detained by their business in the woods. Would you care to join us for our evening meal or would you prefer to take it in your room? You must be tired after your journey." Maria's smile fell at his words, but she quickly recovered herself and reigned in her disappointment to appear cheery, but worn by the day's journey.

"I believe I shall take in my room, Uncle. It has been a long coach ride to Moonacre and I'm feeling quite faint." Her uncle nodded, as if he had thought as much before turning away to go relate to Marmaduke where to send the meal when he turned back and leaned in to the doorway so that he was closer to his niece.

"Maria, I am glad that you are home, but I must ask you to not go in the woods-." Her uncle began.

"Why ever not, Uncle? I thought you were on good terms with Coeur De Noir-."

"Maria, please, listen carefully to me. It is not because of the De Noirs, it is because of something else. Something is in the woods and it's not safe. I do not wish for you to be hurt, I know of your attachment to Robin, but it is dangerous as of late to be in the woods. I would prefer it if you stayed close to home and let Robin come to visit you instead of you going to him." Her uncle's voice took on a fatherly tone, one that he had adopted over time, as he took her hand in his and pleaded with her to stay out of the forest.

"Oh Uncle," Maria grasped one of the hands that held hers, a small smile lighting up her face while a hand moved wickedly behind her back and crossed its fingers, "I'll stay out of the woods. Do not fear for me, I am no longer a rebellious child of fourteen."

"Oh…yes, good…" Her uncle seemed to be at a loss for words as she acted so mature and according to his wishes. "Well, goodnight my dear; please, rest and don't fear for anything. Wrolf sits outside the Manor at night, guarding it at all times. He will protect us all." And with that, Sir Benjamin patted her hand and leaned in to kiss her forehead, as if she were still a young girl, before turning on his heel and exiting the tower. Maria rolled her eyes and sighed, once again falling into her somber mood from earlier.

Shutting her door, Maria threw herself backwards, easily landing on her bed with ease and familiarity of the action. Everything seemed like she'd never left, except for the absence of the bowler-capped boy perched precariously on her windowsill. She never did figure out how Robin had managed to visit her all those nights, especially when Wrolf patrolled the grounds and still held a contempt for the De Noir clan. A sigh flew from Maria's pale lips before she sat up lazily and frowned at her room, her hands clasped together in her lap as she waited for her meal to arrive.

As if on cue there was a knock at the door and Maria rose to greet the tiny cook she knew would be on the other side of it. With a practiced smile and the ease of knowing how to fool anyone in the vicinity, Maria opened the door and was met with the sight of her good friend Marmaduke. He was grinning from ear to ear, his thin needle-like mustache curling at the ends as was his way, the chef stood, holding a tasty looking meal out in front of him.

"Oh Marmaduke, it looks lovely! Thank you so much!" Maria ducked through her doorway to hug the small chef, retrieving the platter of food from him as she pulled away.

"Now that you've returned again, I've got even more of my gusto back, Princess. It's only a matter of time before you'll be eating the best of my dessert recipes!" And with that phrase, he was gone, causing her to roll her eyes and shake her head in knowing. He had taken to doing that, not finishing conversations, when she was preparing to leave Moonacre Valley and now it seems he could not stop the habit. With a sigh, Maria ducked through the threshold and sat down her platter of food on her bed before turning back around to close and lock her door. With a sigh she turned back to her food, her eyebrow rising at the choice of meal, her favorite, before another smile appeared on her face.

"Curiouser and Curiouser." Her smile spread into a grin as she quoted one of her childhood favorites while she moved across the room, ungracefully plopping herself down upon the bed next to her food.

"This is so much easier than living alongside nine-and-twenty other girls." She spoke to herself as she rolled onto her side, propping her head up with her arm, her other arm extending so that she could grasp the fork next to her plate and stab at the quail on her plate. With a newfound rebellion against society's way of composing herself, Maria ate with little decorum, finding that Marmaduke's cooking was still her favorite as she greedily ate her plateful. As soon as she finished her meal she was up, off the bed, and pulling at her skirts to straighten them before she took up her platter and went to open the door. Balancing the platter while also trying to lean forward through the door as she opened it, Maria huffed in annoyance at her small doorway before finally making her way through it.

Stumbling, but catching herself, Maria managed to make it down the few steps from her room's entrance just as a shrill howl pierced the air. A shiver ran up her spine and her knees became suddenly like the molasses she had just used to sweeten up her quail, causing her to furrow her brow in contemplation.

'I thought I'd grown out of being frightened like a small child at odd noises? Silly Maria, it is more than likely Wrolf….who has turned into a lion and cannot howl.' Her eyes widened at the realization just as voices were heard from the ground floor, their loud quality causing them to echo up to her.

"What in God's name was that?" Her uncle's voice was clear to her and one of the most familiar.

"I don't know, Merryweather. Robin and I have been scouring the woods with a scouting party, trying to find the infernal beast, but we've not even managed to find a den fit for such an animal." De Noir's voice, she remembered it well, as it was frightening to her when she was younger, but had become somewhat familiar. Her brow furrowed even more in her confusion at the man's being in the manor.

'Didn't Uncle say they were to dine with us tomorrow night?' Suspicion arose in her mind, causing her hackles to rise. She had been lied to, or at least had knowledge kept from her! Rolling her eyes, Maria shrugged off her annoyance at the people she loved, once again returning to her task at hand and attempting to carry the platter down the tower steps.

"Have you found anything out, Rochester?" Her Uncle's voice once again carried up her towers stair, as the door to the entryway into their wing opened and closed, footsteps of a new inhabitant causing her to slow her pace as she listened for this 'Rochester' to respond.

"Not a thing, Benjamin. I checked the perimeter, but the beast has not shown itself around your home. Wrolf is still on guard, though. He seems nervous." The man's voice was deep and clearly from the North, more than likely Scottish, and it caused her to momentarily lose focus and trip on her last step. A cry escaped her lips and she squeezed her eyes shut as the platter flew from her hand and she tried to grab hold of anything nearby to stop herself from falling flat on her face.

"Maria!" Several voices chorused in surprise as her fall was suddenly halted, a pair of strong hands holding her up while she grasped the lapels of someone's coat tightly. Slowly the fire haired woman opened her eyes to look up into the dark, golden irises of another's gaze. With a start Maria straightened herself, blushing as she released the man from her hold on him, though he seemed hesitant to do so himself. She could not help but stare, unflinchingly, into the eyes of the mysterious man, one whom she could only think might be Rochester.

"Maria, what ever are you doing?" Mrs. Digweed's was the voice to first startle her from her trance just as the platter clanged to the floor, seemingly delayed by her unwitting toss of it high into the air. She flinched at the sound of the noise, the man before her doing the same, though seemingly more so than she.

"Maria, are you alright, dear?" Maria's attention toward man was broken and she looked away from him with a start, turning out of his hold as Loveday spoke to her.

"Uh…." Maria, for all her newfound gentility from boarding school and education, could not even fathom how to reply to her. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out, and she felt as though she were a gasping fish upon the shore.

"Is your ankle alright, Madam?" The man spoke, causing her to turn her attention back to him momentarily.

"Pardon?" Maria turned back towards him before a throat was cleared, both Maria and the man turning to face her uncle's direction, though Maria's eyes instantly found her shoes.

"Maria is yet to be out in society, Rochester." Her uncle's voice caused Maria to lock her gaze with his, noting the stern look upon his face and nearly rolling her eyes at it. She had learned to control the impulse, no need to give up such a well practiced hold on herself. She nearly raised her eyebrows in defiance, but proceeded to gather herself, bow, and run her way up the tower stairs and into her room, barely ducking enough to enter it. As soon as she was inside she quickly shut the door, barely restraining herself from slamming it, and turned to face her bed.

"Uuuuuuuuggghhhh!" Maria growled childishly, throwing herself onto her bed and covering her face in embarrassment.

"Uncle, how do you always manage to embarrass me?" She felt like crying, maybe beating her fists against the feather mattress in frustration, but she refrained from both, finding her feet once again and standing up, her hands clenched and her fingernails digging into her skin. A huff flew from her lips and she shook her head, clutching her hair before pulling all of the pins out of her deep red tresses. With a shake of her head her hair was free and she felt slightly less annoyed, but not yet enough. Just as she was about to begin pulling the strings to her corset loose so she could change into her nightdress, yet another person deemed it important to knock upon her door.

"Maria? Maria, darling, are you alright?" Loveday, of course, had come to check up on her, just like she was a small child once more. Maria took a deep breath in, calming her anger as she slowly let it out, before turning to face the door and attempting to be completely civil.

"Yes, I was just caught by surprise, Aunt. I'm just so tired I lost my footing and have exhausted myself in my efforts to return to my chamber. Please, give everyone my bid goodnight, I am sorry to not be able to. Also, please excuse my behavior." Proper words and formality spewed from her lips, years of practice making it easy for her to do so.

"Oh….yes, of course. Goodnight, dear." Loveday spoke, her voice making her seem reluctant to leave her niece.

"Goodnight, Aunt." Maria spoke, trying her best to sound differently than how she felt. The finality in her voice lingered in the air for several moments before she could hear Loveday's retreating footsteps. A pang of regret flew to her chest, piercing her heart, and she rushed towards the door to listen for her aunt, yet heard nothing.

"Good job Maria, very well done." She whispered to herself, chastising the way she treated her lovely aunt as she beat her head slightly against the door.

"All you've done is act like a selfish child. Did your teachers not refine you? Were you not an accomplished young woman but a day's coach ride ago? What is wrong with you?" Again she hit her head lightly against the door before retreating from it and turning back to her task at hand. With less haste than before Maria unfastened the ties to her dress, pulling off her dress into her skivvies. Then she paused, her ears perked, and she waited. The oddest sensation of being watched filled her, causing her to still in her movements as she heard the door to her room, which had been locked, open with a long creak of the wood.

"Maria." The deep voice from before, from Rochester, shook her to her core and made her shiver. Gooseflesh rose on her skin as she felt him moved towards her, his large, warm hands ghosting over her bare skin. Her body arched to his touch, unbidden, and she turned into his awaiting arms, only to find nothing but air. Her eyes widened in confusion, her pale skin losing more of its color as she found the door closed and locked. Her breath quickened, but she brought a slender hand to her heart, holding her chest so as to calm her nerves.

"What on earth is wrong with you Maria?" She shook her head once more before shakily returning to her task of dressing herself for the night and climbing into her warm bed, her candles having already doused their own light. With a final glance to the sky and a silent wish for a better day in the morning, she let sleep claim her, failing to notice the small bumps of gooseflesh on her skin starting to disappear.

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><p>AN: I tried to be kind of periodic-ally accurate. I didn't phrase all of the speaking tones quite correctly; I kind of made it a tiny bit more modern. I know that girls generally came out during 16-17 years of age, but I delayed Maria's because of her adventures.

Thank you for reading!

Please review kindly, if at all.

-Aimze


	2. Mischievious Endeavors

Disclaimer: I do not own The Little White Horse or The Secret of Moonacre. I just kind of love them. I also do not own the Alice in Wonderland and Don Quixote references/quotes.

A/N: Halfway through this I started listening to _'Annabelle Lee'_ sung by Sarah Jarosz. It's really a great song to write by, so the horse race is really to that song, if you feel like listening to Poe's poem being sung while you read it.

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><p>A scream rips through the morning, causing Maria to sit up quickly in her bed, her eyes wide and terrified. Dark blue eyes searched the room for whoever was making the noise, realization soon dawning on her that she was the one who was screaming bloody murder. Helplessly she clutched her bed sheets, trying to stop herself from screaming, but unable to concentrate her mind through the haze of sleep. Fear clouded her mind, but not enough to ignore the opening of the door and the sound of her uncle's voice.<p>

"Maria! Maria, please, calm down!" The loving arms of her uncle wrapped around her, his arms encircling her in a protective way as her screams turned from screams to sobs, her face buried in his shoulder. Her uncle shushed her, as he had become used to when she was younger, and spoke in a soft, soothing tone so unlike his usual stern demeanor. Eventually, she calmed, her mind finally clearing from its haze and her arms finding themselves wrapped around her father figure in both thanks and for protection.

"Maria?" Sir Benjamin tried, his voice still the hushed, soothing tone so as not to alarm her while pulling back from her slightly to speak to her face to face. Maria begrudgingly let her uncle go, trying to gather her wits about her while still wanting to be in the security of her uncle's arms.

"I'm sorry Uncle; I don't know what overcame me. I woke up screaming and I'm not sure as to why. I cannot remember the contents of my dream, but I still feel the terror that it brought forth in me." Maria spoke quietly, her hair shading her face as she brought her hands up to cover her eyes. Tears had fallen from her eyes unbidden while she had been screaming and she couldn't bear to have her uncle see her in such a state; he would just become more worried over her.

"Are you better now?" He questioned, his hands reaching up to pull her hands away from her face.

"Yes, I'll be fine." She smiled up at him before leaning forward and hugging him, then releasing him.

"Good. Please, try to find some rest." He spoke before kissing the top of her head in a rare show of affection before picking up his candle and retreat from the room.

"Is she alright?" Loveday's voice, muffled by the door that her uncle had just closed, was just in earshot of her.

"Yes, she'll be alright. She had a nightmare." Their voices seemed farther away as they spoke, signifying their return to their bedroom. A small smile formed on Maria's face before she lay back on her bed, closing her eyes as she did so, and tried to reign in her tumultuous emotions to try and once again sleep. Several minutes of tossing and turning occurred before Maria shot back up again, this time in a huff, and thrust the bed sheets off of her. Then she proceeded to make haste in the unpacking of all her necessities to dress, including a deep, crimson dress with lace trimmings and intricate patterns sown into the bodice and parts of the skirt. She soon was pulling off her night dress, pulling on the dress, and trying her best to tie her corset tight enough to contain her matured form. After several minutes of trying her best to out-do her younger days of being able to easily fashion her laces, she rolled her eyes and did as best she could. Then she proceeded to unpack her brush so that she could try to tame the tangled mass of fire that was her hair. After several tries, she once again capitulated and messily fashioned her hair into a bun. Then proceeded to pull on her black ladies boots, her fingerless gloves, and a wool cloak; her plan being to find Periwinkle and to go out for a ride, the woods looking relatively inviting this morn.

A sly smirk flew to Maria's face before she made her way out of her room and down the stairs, only to find two De Noir men guarding the entrance. A scowl formed on Maria's face before she heard the voices of Coeur De Noir and Sir Benjamin coming from the end of the hallway and rising in volume as they neared the foot of her tower.

"I'm still wary of him. He's not to be trusted, Merryweather." De Noir's voice seemed to be lower than that of his normal boisterous volume, but was still near enough to cause Maria to step farther back into her tower so as to hide from the two gentlemen.

"He's a helpful man, De Noir, and he's a knight, like myself. If the Queen's army can trust him, then we can trust him." Her uncle replied, his voice once again stern and annoyed, like it normally was.

"Then why are two of my men guarding Maria's tower? Do you fear he is unscrupulous?" At this they both halted in front of the two guards and turned to face one another.

"No, De Noir, I fear that the beast in the forest will slip by my black lion and will kill my niece. Do you know how I found her this morning? She was screaming bloody murder. Do you know what was also clear as day to me other than her screams? That same damnable howl that the beast emits; as soon as her screaming stopped, the howling stopped." Her uncle's voice had become a harsh whisper as he related his story to the head of the De Noir clan, but Maria heard it all the same. Quickly she covered her mouth after gasping loudly in shock, drawing the attention of all four men below, before she ran straight back up to her tower and into her bedroom, locking the door.

"Maria?" She heard her uncle call her name, but she was already pulling her blanket off her bed and over both her hair and her dress, silently thanking her aunt for buying her such a large and luxurious blanket. To add to her rouse she unlaced her boots, kicked them under the bed, then reached up and rubbed at her eyes to make them appear reddened.

"Maria?" A knock at her door and her uncle was once again calling upon her, causing her to pull the blanket closer to her and slowly unlock and pull the door open.

"Uncle?" She faked a hoarse, sleepy tone.

"Have I woken you up?" He inquired, to which she nodded.

"I apologize. Coeur De Noir and I thought we heard you in the hallway; it must have been the wind. Please, go back to sleep, I'm sorry to have disturbed you." At that he once again kissed her forehead and turned about, allowing her to shut her door and lock it. She stood stock still for several minutes, her ear pressed to the wood of the door, determining how far away he might be before she let her blanket fall in a pool at her feet and went to her knees to find the boots she had kicked under her bed. A grin of success grew on her face as she pulled the twin shoes out from under her bed and put them back on, making sure that the laces were extra tight. Then rushed over to the fireplace, pulled up her hood, and tripped the secret passageway.

"This is probably a foolhardy idea." She mused for a few minutes before all womanhood was tossed aside and she was once again a young girl, rushing through the passageway and out into nature.

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><p>The pounding of hooves, the mist of the morning, and the smell of rain assaulted Maria's senses as she rode Cesar, one of her uncle's latest additions to his barn, instead of Periwinkle. She was loathe to leave the little mare, but she knew her pony could no longer bear her weight, as she was no longer a small, thin girl of fourteen years. Now she rode upon the dark, chocolate gelding into the forest and under its familiar canopy. With practiced ease she pulled her hood up, over her fiery locks so that it would shade her face from any notice as she trotted on her horse down old paths she knew. A wild feeling flew through her, her woes of heartbreak from the city, the thoughts of her new acquaintance, and of any wild beast shrinking from her mind as the wild feeling grew.<p>

Joyful laughter rumbled in her chest before it broke past the barrier of her lips and she was urging her steed on, allowing him more of the reins and a faster pace, her hood flying off her head and her cloak billowing behind her. So caught up was she that the sound of another set of hooves accompanying her own horse's did not catch her notice until the beast and its master was matching her stride for stride. Eyes the color of honey met hers, daring her as their owner grinned deviously before slapping the reins and kicking at its flanks, urging the great stallion to surge forward, ahead of her gelding. A grin spread onto her face, all thoughts of propriety thwarted by the thrill of the ride and race, her motions mimicking those of his so that her steed would change into a canter.

Laughter echoed through the forest as they raced, Cesar finally catching up to the black stallion and its rider, allowing the two supposed adults to race like children.

"Where shall we end our race, good sir?" Maria cried, taking the bit back from Cesar so that they both could slow to an easy gallop to converse at.

"I am not completely sure of the whole forest, Madam. Where should we stop our game? Or shall we only stop when our animals tire of their impetuous masters?" Rochester replied, the Scottish borough of his voice causing her ears to tingle.

"We shall go to the ocean! There, on the beach, we shall determine the faster steed!" Maria answered him, the infectious smile of the rider next to her catching.

"Then away with ye, fiery maiden!" Rochester replied, urging his horse to return to the canter he had easily switched into earlier. Giggling, Maria urged her horse to follow in the Stallion's wake, soon catching up to the beast once more. Then she shifted on her horse, bending forward more, clutching at his neck and letting loose the reigns as she lightly kicked his side. Cesar propelled forward, understanding his path as he surged down the trail to the beach, the stallion hot on his trail. Sand flew from beneath the horses' hooves as they flew across the inlet that was their beach, until they simultaneously slowed to a stop, Rochester the first to dismount his horse.

"Miss Merryweather." A hand was held out to her, Rochester appearing at her side like the perfect gentleman. Taking the proffered hand, Maria easily dismounted Cesar, her experience from having to figure out how to dismount Periwinkle without Robin's help for years coming into play.

"Sir Rochester." Maria replied in turn as she curtsied and he bowed, their smiles from earlier still ever present. Rochester, after taking back his hand, offered his arm to her, which she took as they started to walk along the shoreline. They spent several moments in silence, his gaze finding purchase on her as she blushed prettily at.

"Pray tell, Sir Rochester, is there something on my face?" She inquired lightly, her tone playful.

"No….that is to say…..If I'm not too bold, Miss Merryweather…you seem different from last night." Rochester spoke, his tone mimicking hers and causing her to glower at him while her lips stretched into a mischievous grin.

"Hmm…. I dare say! I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!" Animatedly Maria spoke, separating from her newfound acquaintance to step closer to the water so that it could tease the soles of her boots. Rochester let out a deep chuckle, his grin morphing into the same devilish one as before.

"The, pray tell, who or what would you be? Are you a nymph of the forest? Have you stolen Miss Merryweather's form? What sort of trickery are you, Madam?" He tried, playing a new game with her, just like she and Robin had done so earlier in their lives.

"I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir, because I'm not myself you see." She called to him, twirling as she did so, her boots splashing the water coming in with the waves about her.

"I could ask the same of your, Sir. What devil are you to race me this morn? I am yet to be out in society, Sir, and it would be quite a scandal for you to be seen with me!" She called to him, her wild spirit not diminishing after their jaunt through the forest.

"I am no devil, Madam, I assure you. Just a knight wishing to fight windmills; it is a common practice, you see. Which reminds me, have you yet to see any? I haven't jousted in some time and my armor is growing dull." He called to her, following her at a distance as she danced with the tide.

"No, Sir, I have yet to find one. When I do, I shall call upon you at the earliest convenience." She called back impishly before twirled, her heart uplifted by the nature around her. It had been a good choice to return home and nurse the poor, broken organ, even though she knew that young Robin would have also returned home to Moonacre Valley. At the thought of him Maria's heart dropped and her light mood fell, her shoulders instantly slumping.

"Miss Merryweather?" Rochester's voice was so near she jumped, startled by the closeness until she realized she had involuntarily paused in her dance with the ocean and her dress was being soaked at the hem.

"I apologize, Sir, but I must return home. My Uncle will be angry with me for leaving without taking breakfast and without notifying him." She spoke, her head bowed as she quickly turned back towards her horse, who had taken to pawing at the sand beneath his hooves.

"Miss Merryweather, have I offended you?" Rochester spoke, his longer stride making it easy for him to catch up to her.

"No, Sir, you have been a gentleman to me. I thank you for your accompaniment here. Good day." She spoke so quickly and curtsied so fast Rochester barely had time to bow before she was off, to her horse, lifting her left foot into the stirrup and pulling herself up, onto the horse.

"Miss Merryweather!" He called after her, but she had quickly turned her steed and was trotting off, back into the mist that the forest was so thick with and leaving him behind to ponder the red headed sprite he had just encountered.

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><p>It had taken her little time to return Cesar to his stable in reality, but in Maria's mind there was little time to waste. It was still the early hours of the morning, but Maria knew that her uncle was worried about her and would constantly wish to check on her. She also knew that if she didn't answer her door a search party would be sent out immediately and she would be in major trouble. So she made haste, running towards the entrance to the secret passageway, her boots slick from the ocean's dance. Several times she slipped, having to catch herself on trees and sometimes in bramble bushes before she made it to the entryway, her cloak torn and the hem of her dress muddy.<p>

Too long did it take her to make her way into her room and so, when she crawled through the small door, she knew her ruse was up as she was met with the hem of her aunt's beautiful blue dress. Cringing inwardly, Maria stood up to her full height and met her aunt eye to eye, noting that her uncle was thankfully not in the room.

"Maria, how kind of you to return." Loveday's voice was unusually stern, a tone she must have picked up from Sir Benjamin, as she stood in front of Maria with her arms crossed.

"Aunt, please, let me explain myself. I was just-."

"Out in the forest? Where that beast is?" Loveday's tone surprised Maria into anger.

"Pardon me, Aunt, but you were the one who told me the secret passageway still worked-."

"That was if you wished to speak with Robin and only Robin. He is my brother, he is family, and he can be trusted, unlike the man I saw you racing against when I saw you go into the stables earlier." Loveday's words struck a chord within Maria, her hackles rising at the mention of said 'brother'.

"To be trusted? Robin, to be trusted?" Maria's voice rose in volume, her tone indignant at the words her aunt spoke to her.

"Do you know how much your brother can be trusted? I'll inform you! He was in London when I was, Aunt. Yes, London! You seem surprised? As was I when I saw a childhood friend and once thought to be future love in the town at which my boarding school was located. I thought he must have come to visit me and my heart swelled. I didn't dare wonder why he hadn't written to me, informing me of his coming, because that wouldn't be right of me. I considered that he just forgot-." Maria started, her voice deep with controlled rage before she was unceremoniously cut off.

"Who forgot something?" The voice of Sir Benjamin froze both the women in place, neither having heard his approach.

"Uh….I…" Maria tried; her strength lost at the thought of how much trouble she would be in if she could not properly distract her uncle from her appearance.

"Maria forgot that this dress was ruined by mud on the way to the valley, so she's going to have to change, my love. Please, we must hurry her along; she is already late for breakfast." Loveday interjected, turning around abruptly and pushing her husband out of the door, following closely behind him, but sparing a glance back at Maria, the look in her eyes telling her they would finish their discussion later. Maria nodded involuntarily, unable to add onto the credibility of their charade, but going along with it by following and closing and locking the door behind them. Patiently she waited until their footsteps were far enough down the stairs of her tower so that she could slump against the doorframe and onto the floor.

"Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only knew how to begin!" Maria cried, dismayed at her being caught before she set about to pulling off her boots and changing her dress, not knowing how later in the day would go for her.

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><p>Breakfast had gone off without a hitch, but Maria was suspicious of the lack of Coeur De Noir and Robin, as she knew that at least the aforementioned De Noir had been spotted by her in the Manor just that morning. However, she had no time to ponder what was to come, as she was now employing all of the power of her mind to escape from her entourage's sight. Her entire remaining family, or at least what she considered her family, had thought to follow her about the grounds throughout the day, making subtle hints that she stay away from the tree line of the forest. It was only minutes ago that she had been able to say something noteworthy and have them discuss the matter animatedly while she slipped into the forest, the boots she now wore carrying her better than the wet one had beforehand.<p>

"Oh how I missed the countryside." Maria spoke to herself in a whisper, not daring to speak louder for fear of being discovered. Each step she took seemed to free her again, like riding with Sir Rochester had that morning, before she had thought upon the childhood friend she used love so dearly and all of it had been for naught. Rolling her eyes, she shook away any unhappy thought and leafed through her vast knowledge of the land to find where she was. Too late, however, was she to notice that she was terribly close to the den of something she had little knowledge of. It was only when she tripped on a root of a tree and a small cry flew from her mouth did she hear the howl of the beast of the forest. To late was she to realize how close the monster was to her, its glowing yellow eyes closed as it reared its head to let loose the eerie noise.

Only when she turned around, was she then quite sure she should have stayed out of the forest…

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><p>AN: I really want to sing the Cliffhanger song, but I shall refrain. Maria is actually more in character than she was last time, as she is acting like herself when she was younger...but I still want to make her more mature, while keeping that spirit. She has grown up, but for now, she doesn't feel that she needs to quite yet.

Anyways, please review kindly if at all.

Thank you for reading!

-Aimze


	3. Dreams and Misconceptions

Disclaimer: I do not own The Little White Horse and/or The Secret of Moonacre.

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><p>Never in her life had Maria thought she would die in this forest, as it was her home and had been free of supposed evil since she was fourteen. Yet now, as she stared into the haunted eyes of the beast before her Maria felt the cold hands of death grasp at her skirts, as though the horseman was going to drag her into the ground prematurely. Her lips parted, as though to scream, but no noise flew from her mouth and Maria could not breathe for fear of making too much noise. Thoughts of running flooded her mind, her logic returning to her as she tried to plan a route, but she couldn't focus. The beast before her kept her entranced, the gleaming claws, frightening teeth, strange yellow eyes, and rippling muscles making her pause in her thoughts of fleeing. Minutes passed and neither moved, the beast and the beauty caught in the sight of each other, a spell keeping either from motion.<p>

A gunshot pierced the air, striking the frightening creature in the chest, and the thunderous sound of hooves followed closely behind. Maria turned just in time to see the black stallion of the morning rushing by, its rider leaning down, reaching out for Maria's hand, which she quickly extended. A split second passed before Maria was pulled up and swung onto the horse, her position facing the rider, her boots resting on his in the opposite direction.

"Miss Merryweather, I thought you were not allowed in the forest." The rider, who she could easily identify as Rochester, spoke through gritted teeth. The teasing tone from earlier seemed absent, but the reproach of his words seemed to be held back as they rode quickly through the forest, their destination unknown by Maria because of the way she was facing.

"And yet you raced me through it, just this morning." Maria's ire rose at the words, though society deemed her to try and tone down the anger with which she spoke. Maria glared at him from her position, her blue eyes meeting his angered gaze.

"I was your escort, Madam, nothing more." Rochester's words seemed to strike a blow at Maria, her gaze losing any defiance and breaking from his. Instead she tried to ascertain their path from the surroundings that whizzed by. They rode in a harsh silence until they neared the tree line of the forest, at which Rochester reigned in his horse and slowed the stallion to a halt.

"Miss Merryweather." Rochester's voice still held the tension of earlier, causing her to return her gaze to the man's face. How like the beast the man appeared, with his growing start of a beard, wolfish face, short brown hair, and smoldering golden eyes.

"Sir?" She questioned, not understanding the reason for their sudden halt. Were they not chasing the beast?

"We might switch around our situation, as not to give false ideas to anyone who did not know what transpired in this forest." Rochester's eyes bore into her, causing her to blush as he spoke before she took the initiative and lifted her left leg over the horse's back, not caring if she made him uncomfortable. Her boot's heel dug into his left foot as she moved, but he seemed not to care as she pitched forward, so intent on dismounting the horse that she slipped. Maria felt all that was the ground as she ungracefully fell from the horse, landing on her hands and knees.

"Shit!" The curse flew from Maria's mouth before she could even think to stop it, earning a chuckle from Rochester, before she heard him dismount. Blushing furiously, Maria pushed herself off her ground, her feet wobbly as her knees threatened to burst with pain. A hand grasped her elbow, helping her stand to her full height as she groaned as she did so, allowing Rochester to help her mount the horse. Maria quickly situated herself, her head bowing in shame as she once again embarrassed herself in front of the same man. The weight of Rochester saddling up behind her and kicking the stallion into a full canter, however, caused Maria to raise her head and slide backwards into the man's arms.

"Sir! I apologize for my curse, but-!"

"This has nothing to do with your curse, Madam. Please, hold on, I cannot hold you and fire my flintlock at the same time!" Rochester grit out, prompting Maria to right herself and clutch at the stallion's mane while the man behind her twisted in the saddle while they shot through the tree line.

"Maria!"

"Princess!"

"Rochester!"

A chorus of shouts flew from the party that Maria had abandoned, her Uncle, Robin, and the Coeur De Noir being the loudest of the group.

"Run!" Maria cried out, a howl following her scream as the beast darted out of the forest behind them, its long limbs propelling it into a leap. A gunshot when off behind Maria and a loud yelp of pain followed, signifying that Rochester had once again shot the massive monster. Rochester slowed their pace, then steered their steed so that they were once again facing the forest. The beast stood, its chest bleeding and what might have been an ear was missing from its head. A deep growl rumbled from its chest before it slowly retreated backwards, into the forest, its yellow gaze the only thing they could see before even that was suddenly gone. Minutes passed, the group of people seemingly frozen in place while Rochester dismounted the horse, helping Maria to do so as well.

"Are you alright?" Rochester questioned her as they stood next to the stallion, his voice a whisper as Maria landed on her feet.

"Yes, Sir, I am fine." Maria spoke, her eyes not meeting his, but finding purchase on the tree line, confusion at the beast's actions furrowing her brow.

"Maria?" Maria's heart fluttered in her chest as Rochester used her Christian name, her breath catching in her throat as she blushed. She turned slowly towards him, ignoring the group closing in on them quickly.

"What?" She asked, her voice quiet.

"What's wrong? Do you see it?" Rochester's tone was still a whisper, a much kinder tone than it had been beforehand.

"No, it's just…."

"What?" His eyes were smoldering again as their gazes met.

"Why did it run away?"

"Yes, why did the beast stop at the forest's edge, Sir Rochester?" Loveday's voice startled both of them to face her, the close position that they had been standing in immediately parted. She, along with Sir Benjamin, Coeur De Noir, Robin, and Mr. and Miss. Digweed stood very near them now.

"Aunt, you cannot expect Sir Rochester to know!" Maria cried, although she had asked the same question to him not seconds ago.

"Maria! Inside, now!" Her uncle cried, pointing to the manor, his face red with fury and his eyes flashing. She had never seen him so incredibly angry and she nearly reacted in the way he wanted her to before the resilient spirit she had had when she was younger stopped her.

"No, Uncle, I shall stay out here. It was my fault that Sir Rochester-."

"Sir Rochester shall explain, Maria, you shall go inside!" Sir Benjamin replied.

"But Uncle-!"

"You dare to speak to me in this manner? You are not out in society as of yet, child, and you still live under my roof!" Sir Benjamin advanced towards her as he yelled, causing her to step back slightly before turning on her heel and racing towards her home, ignoring all that was happening behind her as she made haste to the entrance. Throwing open the doors, Maria shot through them, not even caring to shut them once more. Her feet steered her through her home, finding the way to the back, opening the doors so harshly that they hit the walls behind them. Stumbling, Maria slowed her pace, resorting to walking quickly through the gardens of Moonacre Manor.

Tears fell freely from her eyes, leaving trails of salt and water down her cheeks as she navigated the land she had saved. Years upon years of frustration flowed from her eyes as she walked, paying no heed to anything around her until the wheezing of something made her ears perk up. Turning quickly, Maria eye's met golden before everything became black.

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><p>A scream tore from Maria's mouth as she woke, her eyes unable to discern any shape from the darkness that surrounded her. Frightened, Maria lashed out, her hands feeling for something in the darkness, but only finding air. Uncertainly Maria moved onto her hands and knees, feeling about in the darkness of what she presumed was a cave so that she wouldn't run into anything or fall.<p>

A string of curses she had picked up from Robin flew from her lips as Maria hit her knee on a rock and lurched forward, falling flat on her face as she did so. Pulling herself up once more, Maria began to move again, making her way through the cramped area, hoping that she was going the correct way. The thought that she could really use the moon pearls' guidance came and went as she maneuvered through what she'd now decided was some sort of tunnel, until she found a large room. A candle illuminated the small space, revealing some sort of living area and a bed made out of pillows and several blankets. Slowly Maria moved into the middle of the room, finding that the ceiling was high enough for her to stand up completely straight.

"This must be like Loveday's home." Maria mused, her eyes slowly adjusting enough to the small bit of light the candle emitted to see her surroundings. Uncertainly she turned, slowly as she was still unsure of her footing, making a complete circle before finding herself facing the entrance she had just came through. A small scream flew from her lips as she came face to face with a man, his eyes a familiar gold color, but his face unshaven, his hair a sandy blonde, and his facial features much different, but still handsome.

"I see you've found my home." He spoke, his voice rough with what could easily be seen as pain. Maria's eyes grew to the size of saucers as she noticed the man wasn't wearing a shirt, but was covered in hastily made bandages. One she could see quite clearly was bleeding through and was covering most of his upper torso, as if it had been devised out of a shirt.

"Y-y-your home?" She questioned, trying her best to ignore the frightening resemblance the man's wounds bore.

"Yes, my home. I have been living here for….some time." He spoke again, ducking slightly to both avoid the ceiling and to speak to her as he turned to the left, revealing another wound to the side of his head as he moved towards the candle.

"How long have you been here?" Maria tried, her voice shaking as she backed away from him a few paces until her back hit the wall of the underground home.

"Why don't you just ask me the key questions you wish to ask? You're probably wondering how you got here, why I brought you here, and why I am covered in bandages." The man spoke easily as he picked the candle up in his hand, not bothering to care that the hot wax spilled from the top onto his hand. The man turned to face her once again, his face now fully lit by the candle and his eyes reflecting the flame he held, the eerie glow of them causing Maria's heart rate to speed up slightly.

"So, sir, what are the answers to these questions you believe I am so keen to ask?" Maria's voice grew slightly in strength, though her eyes were still wide with fear. He moved forward languidly, the pain of his wounds seemingly ignored as he strode towards her. He stopped inches in front of her, his hot breath lightly hitting her face and he body angled so that one arm held the candle away from them, while the other hand reached up and so that he could gently graze his knuckles down her cheek. She shivered involuntarily at the soft touch, her eyes closing before she found her wits and cringed away from him. He cocked his head to the side, his movements repeatedly animal like in their nature, his eyes finding hers as he seemed to study her for a moment before a small grin overtook his face.

"To the first….I carried you here. You are not very heavy." Her eyes narrowed at this comment, but she held her tongue, albeit with some difficulty. His grin grew, his sharp canine teeth showing as he did so.

"To the second, I felt we should meet properly. We met earlier, but we were rudely interrupted." At this her eyes grew wider and she pressed herself closer to the wall, wishing with all her being that she had listening to her uncle and not gone into the woods. Wishing that she would've never returned to Moonacre and had forgotten about the silly boy who broken her heart. Wishing, with all her might that the man before her would step away, to stop leaning so close as he prepared to answer the last question she was beginning to think she already knew the answer to. His grin grew as he saw the realization of her thoughts become evident on her face.

"Ah yes….Princess, was it?" He leaned in more, to the point where their faces almost touched. "You are quite correct, dear Princess. I AM injured because I was shot today. Which, in turn, would make me?" He questioned, his grin fading into a small smile as his eyes surveyed her almost hungrily.

"You would be…." Maria started, her whole body shaking in fear at the proximity of the man and the intentions in his eyes.

"Hmmm?" He questioned, his head cocking to the other side slowly, his eyes half lidded and smile widening.

"The beast." She barely had the chance to answer as moved forward quickly, his lips claiming hers…

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><p>A scream rips through the morning, causing Maria to sit up quickly in her bed, her eyes wide and terrified. Her eyes searched the room for whoever was making the noise, realization soon dawning on her that she was the one who was screaming bloody murder. Helplessly she clutched her bed sheets, trying to stop herself from screaming, but unable to concentrate her mind through the haze of sleep. Fear clouded her mind, but not enough to ignore the opening of the door and the sound of her uncle's voice.<p>

"Maria! Maria, please, calm down!" Her uncle's arms tried to encircle her, but she fought him, her eyes wide with fear and she screamed.

"Please, Maria, it's me, Uncle Benjamin—Oh God! Loveday! Loveday, get in here, quickly!" Her uncle called for her aunt who ran into the room, quickly ducking at the doorway, and holding the candle she brought with her out so that she could see. A gasp left Loveday's lips and the candle she was holding fell to the ground, extinguishing itself as it did so.

"Oh God….Digweed! Digweed!" Loveday screamed, her hands quickly going to Benjamin's candle before racing out of the room, her cries for Digweed echoing through the tower, accompanied by Maria's screams.

"Maria! Maria! You must be calm! It's me, it's your Uncle Benjamin, and I'm not going to hurt you! Please, my little one, please!" Her uncle finally managed to be able to hold her as her screams became sobs, her face buried in her uncle's shirt as she did so. Each sob shook her, but her uncle held her fast as she cried into his shirt while he rubbed her back soothingly.

"Where is she?" The voice of Rochester carried up to the tower followed by sound of several pairs of footsteps.

"Sir, please, it is improper for you to see Maria in such a state of undress-!" The voice of Mrs. Digweed was the loudest and the clearest as it neared along with the rest.

"If she has the same affliction then I am the only person that can help her!" Rochester replied, anger evident in his tone.

"Please, Mrs. Digweed, let go of your lessons for now. If Sir Rochester knows what afflicts her, then we must let him go to her. Please, for Maria's sake!" Her aunt's voice tried to reason with Mrs. Digweed's.

"But—you cannot, she is yet to be-!"

"Out in society, yes Madam, I understand this, however, she will not ever be able to come out into society if the affliction gets any worse!" Rochester growled back at the woman, cutting her off before he entered Maria's bedchamber, finding her sobbing in her uncle's arms.

"Rochester, good, you've come." Her uncle slowly let go of her, but Maria held onto him, her grip becoming a vice upon his shirt.

"Maria, please, let me go so that Rochester can look at you." Her uncle spoke soothingly as he lifted his hands to cover her own and help her to pull them away from his shirt. Maria allowed her uncle to remove her hands from his shirt, instead holding his hands.

"Maria, please, let me go. I shall be right next to you, I promise." Seconds passed and then she let loose her uncle's hands, letting them once again find purchase in the bed sheets. She felt her uncle's bodyweight leave her mattress of hay, only to be replaced by a slightly heavier one.

"Miss Merryweather." Rochester's voice was so soft, so different than the time in the woods when she had been confronted with the beast. Or was that real? Was she dreaming about their ride together?

"Sir…" She managed, her voice sounding strangely altered to her. She sounded so womanly, her voice having deepened and yet so soft. Maria's eyes widened and her hands clenched even tighter on the bed sheets until she could feel her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands.

"Miss Merryweather, please, look up at me." Rochester's voice was so deep, so kind, but she didn't want to look up, because everything was wrong. Everything seemed darker, even her beautiful bedroom. She felt as if her soul had been tainted, had been smashed to bits then put back together improperly. If she looked up she might do something drastic, something wrong, and he might not like her.

"Please….Maria, please, look up at me." Rochester sounded so heartbroken, as if he knew how she felt, and suddenly Maria understood. She understood why her uncle had called for Loveday when he'd seen her, why he couldn't look directly into her gaze. Maria, gathering up all her courage, slowly lifted her head so that she could face Rochester before slowly lifting her eyelids and revealed her eyes.

"Oh God!" Her uncle's voice was a harsh whisper as his eyes grew wide while her aunt turned into him, her face hidden in the crook of his neck. Mrs. Digweed feinted immediately, her husband soon entering to attend to her, but not daring to look upon Maria out of respect. Rochester swallowed heavily, his Adam's apple bobbing as he did so, his golden eyes filled with sorrow while his brow furrowed.

"What is it? What is wrong with me?" Maria questioned them, not truly wanting them to confirm what she already thought had happened. Rochester leaned forward, grasping the hand mirror that sat by her bed in one hand and a candle in the other, the light dancing in his eyes as they had the beast's. Maria cocked her head in confusion before she took the mirror, horror filling her heart as she realized who she had mimicked before she looked into the mirror and her eyes grew to the size of saucers.

Her hair, once a beautiful amber color, was now black as the night, her face even paler than she had been, and her eyes a soft glow of golden.

The last thing she could discern was Rochester's sorrow filled gaze before everything was dark once more….

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><p>AN: This is getting inception-esque. I seriously hope I don't accidentally write in Dicaprio. I love him, but that would be bad.

Anyways, thank you for reading!

Please review kindly if at all!

-Aimze


	4. Knowing and the Unknown

A/N: I promise to finish. It may take me a while, because of college, but I will do it.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Little White Horse and/or The Secret of Moonacre.

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><p>An entire day was passed inside her room, all mirrors taken away from it so that she would not once again feint. Sir Rochester was called away, though he seemed loathe to leave her, and he left about noon to attend to his business. Maria's uncle, Sir Benjamin, had left for the De Noir castle to inform Coeur De Noir of the recent developments pertaining to the beast's plague, all the while refusing to look at his niece. Thus, they all left Maria in her room to contemplate the new affliction by which she suffered. Tears leaked from her deep golden eyes, leaving trails of salt and water down her face as she sat, staring into the nothingness of her fire. Long since gone was the warm flame that burnt so brightly earlier in the morning when there was someone to stroke it and make its embers dance. Now it sat, ashen and cold, mirroring Maria nearly completely, except for the lack of the haunting hue of yellow her irises had become.<p>

A twitch was all the movement Maria made other than her lungs expanding and then retracting as she breathed and the blink of her eyelids. Another twitch soon followed, as if she were breaking out of a trance slowly, until Maria was sitting up, her back ramrod straight as she moved. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed and almost robotically moving to stand, Maria pushed herself off the bed before making her way over to her trunk. Like an animated statue Maria moved, her actions stiff and swift, as if she was calculating each thing she die, yet not showing any interest. A sense of despondency surrounded her, filling her, but she seemed to not give any notion to the slight despair.

'That's right, my beauty, my darling maiden, come find me. Dress up in your find red dress and meet me.' A voice, so daring, so heavily accented, and so very familiar echoed through Maria's mind and she responded to it with a slight nod and faster movements. It took her half the time it usually would to dress herself in her evening dress, one usually reserved for balls, and even less to step into her boots and swiftly lace them to the top. Then, like a marionette a well controlled marionette, Maria braided her hair and wrapped it into a bun, tying it up with a deep red ribbon that matched her dress. Mere seconds after she was done with her hair she was out the door, taking a short amount of time to shut it, and she was on her way through the house, easily avoiding any inhabitants that were still in the house of the cursed woman.

'Yes, my darling, you are cursed.' The voice again, resounded in her mind, but not emotion or recognition appeared on Maria's face, her eyes remaining wide and childlike, but without the spark of life. The extent of her response was a single tear down her cheek as she moved, as if in a trance, towards the forest.

'Please, my princess, do not shed tears. Just come to me.' Maria complied with the voice, her legs moving on their own accord as she walked, her feet taking her away. So entranced by the presence in her mind, the one that spoke, that the sound of someone shouting her name was lost to her as she moved, like a fairytale figure moving through the forest, trying as it might to finish its tale.

"Maria! MARIA!" Arms were suddenly around her and pulling her backwards, startling her out of the trance she was in. Wildly Maria fought her capture, screaming out before she was quickly turned around and came face to face with the countenance of Rochester.

"Sir Rochester?" Maria's eyes, still wide from shock, were puzzled as she cocked her head to the side in befuddlement. Rochester's brow furrowed, his eyes reflecting some form of guilt in them, as he still held onto Maria, as if he were afraid that she would once again return to her trance-like state and continue farther away from him.

"Maria…." Maria's eyes closed and she shuddered slightly, her hands that were on Rochester's chest suddenly clenching around his coat's lapels.

"Miss Merryweather?" Rochester's formality brought her back from whatever had been plaguing her, leaving her to push away from him slightly, ducking away as she unclenched her hands from his coat, a blush staining her cheeks.

"I am sorry, Sir, I….I have not any idea who I am anymore. This….affliction, it is causing me to act not as I normally would." Maria's head hung, her eyes averted from the man before her, not wishing to look at what she would guess to be a repulsed face. She had acted so strangely, so out of propriety, and the thought that he would surely tell her uncle made her feel even more ashamed.

"Maria…" Again, Rochester called her by her Christian name, "I know…I know what it feels like. Do not be so embarrassed around me; I know what plagues you."

Turning quickly, Maria once again found purchase in Rochester's awaiting arms as she clutched at him, a stranger to her, yet the only one that could understand her. Tears fell from her eyes as her fingers dug into his coat once more, her face pressed into his chest, her tears forming a wet spot upon his breast pocket. Rochester's arms tightened around her and she felt soft lips upon the top of her head before his cheek came to rest in the spot.

"What is this, Rochester? Why us? Why are we so like this? What made us so desirable to this beast?" She questioned, her voice muffled slightly by the man's coat. Slowly Rochester moved away from her, backing up so that he could take her hands in his and find her gaze.

"Come, we must return you to your home, it is not safe here." He spoke, his voice the tone he seemed to only use when speaking to her.

"Sir-?" Maria was cut off as he turned quickly, his larger hand still enveloping one of hers as they began their trek back to Moonacre Manor. Their pace was brisk, Maria's slightly shorter legs trying their best to keep up with the larger stride of Rochester's.

"Sir, were my questions imprudent?" Maria questioned, a habit forming as she cocked her head to the side as she did so.

"No, madam, they were not. If I am to tell you all that I know, we must be in a safe place." Rochester spoke as they rushed out of the forest, now slowing to a much more suitable pace for a lady in a dress. Maria was at his side now, able to walk normally at the pace, though her hand still found purchase in his.

"I was only two-and-twenty when I was cursed by the beast." Maria just barely managed to hear him as they trekked towards the front doors of the manor, pausing at the landing to face each other.

"I have lived like this for ten years, Madam, and still I do not know all of the answers to your questions." With that he turned abruptly and rapped lightly on the door, which was soon opened so that they could be let through by her uncle.

"Maria, where have you been? Christopher, thank you for returning her; will you dine with us to-night?" Her uncle questioned both in turn, his usually commanding presence seeming to be less so. A slight tinge of guilt tugged at Maria's conscience at the sight of him, his countenance defeated and his face worn. A jolt of shock ran up her back as the gentle press of Rochester's hand to the small of her back became apparent, forcing her to stop pondering on her own feelings and move forward into the manor.

"Miss Merryweather was in need of accompaniment as she took a short walk through the gardens, so I chaperoned her. There is no need to burden yourself with my presence to-night-." Rochester started, trying to explain for the both of them.

"Please, Sir Rochester, will you join us?" Maria requested, the need to keep him there, with her, suddenly prevalent. A blush tinted her skin, the rosy color even easier to see because of her now un-naturally pale skin as she bowed her head in shame at her boldness.

"Maria!" Her uncle paused, one glance at her causing any ire in him to deflate, "You'll have to excuse her Christopher, she's not herself, as you know. However, it would do us great honor to have you. It would comfort Maria as well, it seems." One of her uncle's hands landing on her shoulder in a gesture of fatherly tenderness.

"I would be obliged to, then, Benjamin." Maria's ears perked, her hearing for some reason incredibly sensitive to Rochester's voice, and she looked up through her lashes to try and sneak a peak at him. Easily she was thwarted by her own hair, which she managed to curse thoroughly in her mind, before returning her gaze to her shoes, a frown adorning her face.

"Good, good. I shall go tell Marmaduke we shall have another for supper. Maria, please do not wonder off, child." At that her uncle was gone, off to talk to their lively cook, leaving them on the front landing.

"Maria?" Rochester questioned, a hand reaching out to lift her chin with his finger. Reluctantly Maria complied, her embarrassment evident as her gaze found the cravat he wore instead of his face.

"Sir, when did my Uncle and yourself become so well acquainted?" Maria tried for a subject change, trying to ignore the strange feeling of warmth he was emitting. The idea that the ailment was causing her to become feverish crossed Maria's mind temporarily before she mentally shook it away, knowing it was just her foolishness.

"We came to become much better acquainted when the beast's ailment took you; Maria, please, by God, look at me." At that Maria quickly looked up, finding Rochester's hungry eyes. Her own eyes grew wide and the blush returned to her, though this time it engulfed her whole body. Rochester's breath seemed to be heightened and his body looked as though it were tensing underneath the layers of gentleman's attire he wore. His lips parted, catching her attention momentarily before her gaze found his and she felt any control over herself leave her.

"Christopher?" His name slipped past her lips before she could even register it and said lips were suddenly locked with his, mouths open as their tongues clashed. A deep, guttural moan came from Rochester as her arms wrapped around him and his arms copied hers, his practically lifting her from the ground as he brought her up to meet him. The need to be close to him filled her, causing her body to press into him more, a gasp of surprise flying from her mouth as she felt the reaction their actions had caused him. Almost at the same time they let go of each other, their conscious selves returning as they both simultaneously backed away from each other, their gazes adverted.

"I apologize, Maria…I…" Rochester tried to speak, he the first to look up, Maria's gaze slowly rising to find his once more.

"No, sir, I think it is me who should apologize, I…." Their gazes locked once more and the feeling that she should be much closer to him returned.

"I think it is our affliction, Miss Merryweather." He returned to formality, causing her to look away from him in slight disappointment. Mentally Maria scolded herself, reminding herself of the illness and that she was just acting according to how the beast wanted her to.

"I believe you are right, Sir. I am sorry to have….been so overcome by it…" Maria trailed off, her gaze not finding his. They stood awkwardly for several moments, what had transpired hanging over them like death does to someone so close to its clutches.

"Miss Merryweather-." Rochester started but Maria silenced him with a quick curtsy and "Good day" before rushing into the manor, leaving him to stare after her, a longing look on his face. Seconds passed as he stood there, struck by what had transpired before he caught sight of his reflection in the window and turned very quickly towards his stallion, walking hastily to it as the image of a blonde man in the glass seared into his mind.

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><p>"Maria, please, you must come down to dinner. Robin and my father are here to see you, my darling. Plus, Sir Rochester has deigned to join us for dinner. I know you will feel at ease with him there, my darling. Please, come out of your room." Loveday's voice was muffled by the door, but still it carried to the corner that Maria inhabited. She sat upon the floor, surrounded by large blankets and pillows, a fortress of comfort to protect her from any that might enter.<p>

'How foolish you had been, Maria. Acting like that around Sir Rochester! You act as though you were not taught how to be a lady at all! Still ever the lovesick child!' Maria scolded herself in her mind, pointedly ignoring the imploring words of her aunt to make her dine with their party. She had no inclination to see Robin, Coeur De Noir, and most especially Sir Rochester, or Christopher, as she had just learned his name was. The childish notion that she should refer to him as 'Topher' forever more nearly made her giggle, but she suppressed it, choosing to stay in the cloud of misery and embarrassment she had let herself be encompassed by.

"Maria, please, answer me so I may know you have not slipped through the passage and forsaken us all to live out in the wild with the beast!" Loveday's voice suddenly caught her attention and an indignant anger welled up inside of her. Hastily Maria shed herself of her soft fortress and stomped her way over to her doorway, pulling the door open quickly and causing her aunt to jump.

"Anything would be better than being stared at! I am a child! A child in all of their eyes! Even yours, I can tell! I wouldn't be a child in the beast's eyes!" Maria's golden eyes flashed with her anger, her pupils growing small and her words coming out in a deep womanly snarl.

"Maria, I only meant it as a joke, my darling! Please, settle yourself-!" Loveday tried to grasp Maria's arm, to comfort her in some way, as Rochester had told her earlier to do when Maria became angry and in the way that was typical of being the now raven haired woman's surrogate mother.

"No! I shall not! I am leaving!" With that Maria pushed past her aunt, her blood boiling and all the pent of aggression from the confusion of the last few days suddenly releasing itself in her fury. Forgoing any sort of way to keep herself warm and even forgetting her shoes, Maria flew down the stairs, not caring if anyone heard her, saw her, or even thought of her. With little thought to the dinner party, Maria stomped her way into the dinning room where the party was having supper, surprising them all as she made her way through, not caring that she walked over the table, instead of around it.

"Maria! What on earth are you doing?" Her uncle, his eyes wide as he immediately stood up as his niece stepped up, onto the table, and then walked on the table top so that she could hop off the other side.

"I'm leaving!" She answered, her voice an angry growl.

"Maria?" Both Coeur De Noir and Robin questioned at the same time, they too standing up to try and be of some use. No one moved, even as Maria's form disappeared from behind closed doors. Then, as if realizing himself, Rochester hastily stood up and also climbed over the table, boots and all, to follow the young woman.

"Rochester?" Loveday entered just as she saw Rochester climb over the table, not knowing that her niece had just done so prior to her coming.

"Christopher, where are you going?" Sir Benjamin seemed at a loss, as if he was, for once, unsure as to what was going on.

"I'm following her!" He called back as he started off, his voice muffled as the doors closed.

"Maria! Maria! Where on earth do you think you're going?" Rochester's voice called out to her from behind, but Maria ignored him, her actions not her own and her anger fueling whatever move her body felt like making. She couldn't even discern the difference between her footsteps and the ones she could tell were coming from her chaperone, as she decided he had apparently become.

"Tell me, Sir Rochester, when I am off doing something outrageous, do you track me down of your own accord or do you plan to spark these outings? Do you plot them, sir?" Maria turned about-face swiftly, nearly slamming right into Rochester's broad chest. He halted immediately, an eyebrow rising on his ruggedly handsome face.

"But of course, Miss Merryweather, I must plan these outings. You see, you are becoming somewhat of a shut in, my lady, and I just had to get you out of the house." A smirk grew on his face, one that was quickly mirrored by her lips. Her hands found their way onto her hips, a newfound feeling enveloping her. No longer did she feel as if she were to be embarrassed by the man before her; no, she felt as though they were intimately friends and they could easily joke. Maria would have been puzzled at this, but she could not bring herself to feel such a way.

"I knew it, Sir. You are trying to get me out so that my skin may become bright red and I shall feel miserable. I knew you were one to try and injure my poor, pale features. Have you no pity?" She cried, the smirk betraying her mirth before it dropped and her eyes, golden as they were, seemed to become like lava as she blushed prettily. Rochester had leaned forward, his strong hands taking her by the shoulders and pulling her closer to him, however minuscule.

"I could make your skin pink without the sun's help." As soon as he spoke the words Rochester quickly stumbled back, away from her a few paces, his eyes wide in trepidation.

"I….please, forgive me, Miss Merryweather." He tried to apologize, but Maria shook her head slowly, the shock to her system that his deep Scottish accented voice had brought about causing her reactions to be slightly slow.

"No, please, do not feel sorry….I know it is our affliction that makes us act so inappropriately around each other." Maria's eyes fell to her shoeless feet, an eyebrow rising slightly in question at her own antics before she let it fall and the shyness of before took over her. She didn't take care to notice that Rochester had moved towards her until the sight of his boots came into contact with the sight of her bare feet.

"Rochester-?" Maria tried to question him before a gasp flew from her lips and a hand was brought up to cover them in her fright.

"No, my Princess, I think not." The wild looking man from her dreams suddenly stood before her, bandages and all, and they were in the room only lit by one candle. Maria swallowed uneasily, her eyes wide with fear as she took an involuntary step backwards, away from him.

"I think we were always meant to be this way towards each other." At those words the beast, the man from her dreams, leaned forwards and kissed her.

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><p>AN: Sorry it took so long. Thank you so much for the reviews. Sorry, it's a little shorter than the others.

Please review kindly, if at all!

-Aimze


	5. The Inevitable Waking

A/N: INCEPTION. Oh wait…

Disclaimer: I do not own The Little White Horse and/or The Secret of Moonacre.

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><p>Maria fought with all her might to stay conscious, to stay alert, but everything was a blur that would focus and then return to being muddled. Rochester's face, his lips, his eyes, would morph into the beast's, then return to their natural state and then mix again. Maria's hands stretched out, trying to grab a hold on him, trying to discern which one was, indeed, the real one and which was the dream. She felt herself becoming dizzy with the effort, her head splitting with pain at the distress of her predicament. Around and around the landscape spun, her vision turning fuzzy, and a whirlwind of everything began to fuse together until her hands were grasped firmly and she could shut her eyes to the outside world.<p>

Her body felt as if she had spun around for days, so exhausting was the effort to touch reality for her, that her entirety was utterly spent. The hands that held her own let go of hers, a spark of panic rising up her spine, but she soon felt the muscular arms attached to them envelope her. Maria's body fell limp, her instincts telling her that she could trust these arms, that they belonged to the man who kissed her and kept saving her. Maria dare not open her eyes, for lack of trust in herself and for the possible loss of the feeling of safety. The man shifted the position of his arms under her, one cradling her head and upper back while the other reached under her knees and picked her up fully. Maria let her head fall against the broad chest of the man, trying her best to not let curiosity take hold of her and open her new eyes to see whichever face this man wore.

"Maria, please, be alright." The voice was a whisper and she could not discern which being, beast or man, had spoken it, nor was she inclined to care at the moment. It seemed as though the man, she would call him that for now, was at least concerned for her and thought that she had, indeed, fell into a swoon. Maria held back a victorious smile, schooling her face to remain nearly completely impassive except for the worry of her brow.

"I will return you to your chambers. Please, forgive me for what I have done." A spark of fear flew through Maria at the words, the accent of them finally registering with her. Still, Maria held back any sort of movement, except that expression which she had perfected on her face so that she may at least appear not to be dead. She could feel the movement of the man holding her, each step he took jostling her slightly, even though his strong arms held her in an almost protective way. Minutes passed, Maria's ears alert and listening at each crunch of a twig or sound of an animal howling, until her consciousness let itself slip and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

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><p>"Princess." German; the accent the yellow eyed man before her had to his voice was that of the Germanic kind. She hadn't heard many with such an accent before, as she was not yet out in society and had been kept in close quarters at the boarding school, but she still could recognize it.<p>

"Wolf." Was her candid reply, her eyes narrowing at the man before her, the nickname an outcome of viewing the canine-like form he took when he chased young women in red dresses about the forest.

"How did I get in my bed? Where is Rochester?" Maria's glare turned accusatory, yet the creature before her smiled crookedly.

"I carried you." He replied, leaning back in the chair that he had sat in front of the fireplace. His golden eyes mocked her as he stared straight at her, the fire that she assumed the beast had lit causing him to look more ominous as he did so. Maria gulped as she dug her feet into the bed and pushed herself backwards, the spark of fear that she felt earlier returning as she forced her way as far from him as possible.

"Sir Rochester?" She questioned, trying her best to hold her composure as her back hit the headboard, the sound of her body hitting the wood behind her causing her to cringe. The beast stood up slowly, his chair softly screeching as he did so, before he languidly made his way to her bedside.

"Rochester…..Rochester is a name I heard once." The bed dipped under his weight, his leg touching hers momentarily before she quickly moved it. He sat, leaning forward, his shoulders hunched and his brow worried.

"You look frightened." He reached out, his fingers lightly touching her face before she could jerk away from him. His brow creased and he retracted his hand, scooting himself away from her. An inhuman snarl flew from his throat before he stood up, turning away from her, his back now coming into view. The beast wore what Rochester had been wearing at dinner, a dinner which she had interrupted like a fool. A blush heated her cheeks, her embarrassment rising. She had acted as though she were an impetuous child, like she had no control over herself, like she was the younger, more naïve Maria that had first appeared at Moonacre Valley.

"Why are you blushing?" The wolf was facing her again, his strange mood of a few seconds ago disappearing and the taunting that she had faced earlier, in what she hoped was a dream, returning. His eyebrow was raised; his body turned to half face her, his profile lit dangerously. Her eyes narrowed at him as her blush became deeper at being caught, lost in her own musings.

"I…I was…."

"Embarrassed about how you charged into the dining room like a madwoman?" Her eyes widened, the idea that he had just practically read her mind surprising her.

"It is alright, Princess. You haven't really done anything. You didn't even ride out with Sir Rochester. In fact, you haven't even met him yet." Shock flew through Maria, her blush from earlier immediately fleeing her cheeks and her skin losing its normally pale tone, making her seem translucent.

"You-you mean to tell me that I'm dreaming all of this? Dreaming about a man I've never met, a creature that has forever changed the way I act, and that I'm at home in Moonacre Manor?" Maria's face contorted, but her position on the bed changed to a more relaxed pose, the thought that the wolf was, indeed, a figment of her crazed imagination sunk in.

"I must be absolutely 'round the bend." Maria spoke, her eyes still wide, but her brow furrowing in confusion. A slender hand flew to her forehead, her bangs scrunching up under her hand so she could try to assess her own temperature. A crooked grin grew on the wolf's face, his golden eyes flashing at her before he moved to once again sit on the edge of her bed; though this time he sat intimately close. Slowly he lifted his right hand to grasp her own, his large and slightly toned appendage holding her own pale and thin one lightly as he lifted it to his forehead.

"What is the diagnosis?" She nearly laughed at the wolf's actions, but focused her efforts on trying to understand why her hallucination had such a high fever compared to her own.

"Do you naturally run hot?" She questioned timidly, her sure tone of earlier faltering as he shifted his seating position, his thigh touching hers. She tried not to blush, knowing full well he would question her again; after all, that's what she would do, and he was her hallucination.

"Yes. Do you naturally ask your supposed hallucinations their average temperature?" His crooked grin grew as he cocked his head to the side, her hand now in his hay colored hair.

"Not usually. In fact, I usually don't have hallucinations." She answered, her fingers reflexively feeling his hair, an eerie calm falling over the two of them. Maria could no longer grasp at the strands of fear that had had her backed up into her headboard earlier. She felt at ease, knowing that her hallucination wasn't going to hurt her and had even just made an attempt at being humorous. He seemed to relax as she did; furthering her suspicions that he was, indeed, an image from her mind. So occupied was she in these thoughts that she failed to notice how silky his hair was, how warm he was, how the bed sheets scrunched under his weight, how the bed sank slightly where he sat. She just smiled at him, her relaxed state making her drowsy and drunk in the presence of him, his demeanor softer, kinder, than her nightmares had made him out to be.

"My Princess, you should rest." He spoke, his large hand once again catching hold of hers and slowly pulling it from his hair so that he could hold onto it. Maria huffed, sinking suddenly into the pillow, her auburn hair fanning out around her, making it appear as if she bore a halo.

"I have been asleep long enough. I do not wish to have any more nightmares, nor do I wish to stop reasoning with my own hallucination. How have I come up with you? I have not had many men in my life and I haven't often heard such an accent as yours. I must have quite the imagination, a better one than I have given myself credit for." He chuckled, all hints of the evil creature she had met before gone, his presence seemingly only that of a man. Maria flushed, her body suddenly burning as she realized this, the idea scandalizing her and the fact that he bent down to kiss her forehead being the two main factors of her ailment.

"You must sleep. I will make sure all your questions are answered in the morning, My Princess." The wolf replied to her, his golden eyes so soft, so gentle, Maria knew she was going insane. She had created the most beautiful man out of a creature that frightened her thoroughly and was now wishing, hoping that he would suddenly become real.

"Sleep." He repeated his order and Maria graciously complied.

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><p>"How is she, Loveday?" She could hear her Uncle Benjamin's voice, but her eyelids refused to open, refused to obey her commands and let her see her uncle's face. She felt the bed dip and her heart leapt from her chest, the similar situation seeming so familiar, yet she felt colder, more human, than in her dream. She felt the ache of the carriage ride to Moonacre, the wear of having to sleep against the wall, her head craned in an awkward position, didn't seem to have disappeared during her sleep. She felt as though rest had escaped her, but she knew that she had been asleep, as the evidence clung to her eyelashes like glue. Slowly, with care to the thought that the 'sleep' could irritate her eyes, her eyelids fluttered open slowly, blue eyes blurry as her pupils dilated. Almost instantly she sneezed, her whole body pitching forward at the full force of her sneeze, familiar hands grabbing each of her arms to help her sit up as another sneeze came.<p>

"Loveday, she's awake! Quickly, send for the doctor!" Her uncle's voice was loud, placing him as the person who was holding onto her so tightly, and she quickly put her hands to her ears to cover them from the unnerving volume he spoke in. Her eyes shot open, her vision going double as she realized that every sense was on overdrive. Her mouth opened to scream, but the only sound she could issue was a hoarse whisper of a scream. Her uncle's hands wrapped around her triceps, shaking her lightly, her whole body moving back and forth as he tried to bring her to reality.

"Merryweather, what the devil is going on?!" Coeur De Noir, Maria could barely recognize his voice through the haze of her mind. She felt as though she was possessed, or she assumed this was what it would feel like, and she felt her eyes widen in crazed fear. Her screams began to become more pronounced, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes, as fear gripped her breast tightly and her muscles went rigid.

"Maria! Maria! Please! Oh God! Maria! Someone, bring me a sedative! Please, someone do something!" Her Uncle's voice was raised in panic, Coeur De Noir seemed at a loss, but Maria paid no heed, as her only instinctual response was to scream herself hoarse. Her perception of reality and dream had been ruined and whatever was heads or tails of what, she couldn't tell. It wasn't until a man entered the room, a man that was with the doctor, that she fell silent and her eyes finally blinked. Her whole body crumpled and she rolled into a ball, he limbs falling slack as her eyes staid upon the man who had entered into her room.

"Maria?" Her uncle questioned her, and then turned to face the doctor, his facial expression unreadable as he regarded both men.

"Doctor Hopkins, Sir Rochester, thank you for coming at such short notice. I am afraid that my niece is not yet out in society…but please, for the sake of her mind, pay no heed to propriety." At this her uncle rose from his position on the bed at her side, letting go of arms and laying her down comfortably on her bed before backing away. The doctor was the first to move forward, setting his carpet bag on the side table next to the bed and pulling out several instruments before taking her uncle's former place.

"I'll need some privacy with the patient." The doctor spoke, his voice gruff from age and the pipe, his demeanor serious in its nature and reinforcing his words. Her uncle seemed to startle, almost as if he was in a stupor before, and looked as if he was going to say something, but Loveday's hand on his shoulder halted his words. Coeur De Noir consented with a nod, taking his leave, his gaze connecting with her uncle's, as if bidding him to do the same.

"Sir Rochester, although I have asked to you to come with me, I would also wish you to leave until I ask you back in. If it is as you fear, then I will call for you." Rochester nodded, his eyes hidden by the shadows of her room, the outline of him being the only thing she could discern in her maddened state. Her uncle and Loveday retreated, Rochester following them, yet pausing at the door to look back, his eyes glinting the color of the sun as light caught them. Maria inhaled sharply, her cheeks flushing and her leg muscles tensing. She'd never felt something like this, not from just one look from a man, and never with Robin.

"Maria, do you know how long you have been asleep?" Maria's attention was diverted to the doctor, her eyes finding the face of the aging man at her side, his face made out of wrinkles and his olive skin tone contrasting his fitting perfectly with his hazel eyes. His hair had already whitened to the color of snow, but he didn't seem as ancient as his hair suggested, instead making him seem more dignified and regal. She would have been delighted to speak with him if she was able to break out of her mind, which had trapped her in some kind of stupor. Instead of speaking, she blinked at him, her eyes feeling empty and reflecting in the elder man's as devoid of feeling. The doctor seemed to understand her and he sighed before standing up, not even appearing to wish to make the futile effort to understand what could ail her.

The doctor rose, his thin body crackling with the effort, his age seeming to take him over as he moved to the door and twisted the knob, letting in the man she assumed was Rochester. She had barely noticed that he had taken the carpet bag with him, but now had to focus on it to hide her curiosity as to what Rochester could do to save her.

"She is beyond me, Sir. I leave you to council her." The doctor then left, pulling the door closed behind him, his face solemn as he turned to close the door behind him. That's when Rochester chose to speak, his voice so familiar it made her quake in fear.

"My princess, I understand what is happening to you…" Rochester trailed off, his foreign accentuated voice comforting her in its familiarity. She reached for him, slowly, her right hand quaking as she brought it up, into the air, and in his direction. He stepped forward quickly, revealing his identity as he grasped her hand, shocking her entire system as the contact sent a jolt through her.

"And I must tell you, my beautiful one, that you haven't seen your Uncle Benjamin yet. He has not awoken you to set you right, he is, in fact, still asleep in the bed that he shares with your Aunt, Loveday De Noir. Coeur De Noir is still in the guest bedroom several rooms away, dead to the world he is so encumbered in slumber. The good doctor is a figment of your imagination, which, is quite a beautiful thing. I, however, am here. I have been here since last night, when you called me by both Rochester and another word." Maria's breath sped up, but she made an attempt to sit up in her bed, her hand that grasped Rochester's tightening so that she could pull herself up with his assistance. He easily helped her, a soft smile on his wolfish face, the golden eyes of before dancing in the sunlight. She felt at a loss, but he sat down and, with the last of her strength, she pushed and pulled herself up and into his awaiting arms.

"You were my dream. You are my dream." His arms wrapped around her as her reflection became apparent in her vanity mirror, her shocking red hair and ocean blue eyes reflecting off of it. She leaned into him, ignoring the disappointment that she was no longer like her dream self, but was once again Maria Merryweather, the girl Robin De Noir had shunned and jilted in love. He seemed to understand and pulled her to him, his golden eyes meeting her gaze in the mirror, his lips parting in breathy words of comfort.

"In time, I will help you understand what is going on. Trust me, my princess. I will help cure your mind. You have yet to sleep, truly, and a fever has taken you. Your mind is riddled with fever, but I will stand fast. I will be your anchor; you only must call out for me." His voice, so beautiful to her ears, made them tingle and she shivered, her nerve endings firing in pleasure. She felt safe, encompassed in his arms, and she wished never to be parted from him henceforth. As if once again reading her mind, his hold on her shifted, bringing their bodies closer, nearly flush against each other as he explained her madness.

"You left the boarding school you had been going to as you graduated from schooling and were to become a lady in society, but Robin De Noir broke your heart and you found yourself returning to Moonacre to escape him, as he had taken to the city. Instead of coming out into society you chose to hide at your childhood home, embarrassed by your profession of love to someone that did not love you back. When you arrived, you immediately went to your room and ate your dinner in the solace of your own confinement. You then fell to sleep, your body worn from the long, arduous ride to Moonacre from the city and a fever took you. Little did you know that this was not the first time you slept." Maria's eyes widened, a chill running down her spine, and her body went rigid in his arms. He soothed her easily, his hands rubbing her back lightly, his head ducking so that their foreheads met and their breath mingled.

"My princess, you slept a long time when you were younger. You slept and I came in the night, my body malformed like that of a wolf's, but your magic cured me, even as you slept, and I watched you. I watched and waited for you, even as you fell in love with the De Noir boy, and I have now come for you. I have come to take you from this place where the foolish boy can look upon you easily and ignore you. I would have taken you sooner, when you were asleep in your carriage…" Maria's memory flashed, the blurry figured of someone sitting in the seat before her in their personal carriage frightening her then, but now a comfort.

"Yes, my princess, I sat with you during your long rest on you way here. I entered the coach when you first hit the woodland area on the outskirts of Moonacre. I sat with you until it became a danger for me and then, then I left you begrudgingly. I left you and now, now I have taken you. Do you know where, though? My darling? My beautiful one? I have taken you to the place where one light burns. Can you remember? Can you see clearly, now? My princess, can you fight your fever and reveal the truth with your own eyes?"

Everything swirled around Maria and she found herself back in the room that was lit by only one candle, the wounded man before her suddenly seeming so much more real than he had before. Reality seemed to catch up with her and she knew, instinctually, that this was the true reality. She was underground, presumably underneath yet another great tree, if you were to judge by the roots, and she was with the blonde man that she had taken to calling Rochester.

"Was I ever at Moonacre?" She questioned, her eyes wide in realization that she could not remember what had been real and what had been a hallucination brought on by her fever. Sweat clung to her body, forcing her to realize that she had apparently fought off her fever, but she ignored her body's pleas for rest and a new set of nightclothes.

"You were. I came for you in the night. You called me your beast. I felt your forehead and tested it against mine. You thought I was the one with the fever, then." She moved to touch him, to grasp at his half naked form, but swayed dangerously instead. His one uninjured arm reached out to grab hold of her and she balanced with his help, her mind in a whirlwind as she processed everything. She had arrived at Moonacre, gone immediately to her room, ate her supper alone, and fell asleep, so exhausted by her journey that she had contracted a fever. The beast, or the man in front of her, had come to check on her and had even gone so far as to steal her away in the night. He had confessed that he was, indeed, a beast, had watched over her as a child after she'd healed him, however unintentionally, with her magic, and fallen for her. He had come to take her away from the horrors of society, to love her and have her love him. She already felt a fondness for him rise in her, though fear also forced her body rigid.

"Maria?" He was swaying on his feet too, she noticed, and it looked as though he was the one that might collapse, not she. Her hands darted out to stop him from falling to the floor, but she moved too quickly and ended up tripping them both up and sending them tumbling to the floor. He maneuvered quickly, using his body as a pillow for her landing, a grunt from him the only acknowledgement that they'd fallen over, while she let out a startled yelp.

"Maria…are you alright?" He seemed to barely bite out his question and she quickly pulled herself upright using a nearby rock that jutted out of the cave wall. Worry creased her brow at the intense pained look upon the man's face, his bandages seeming to darken in the dim light. She quickly straddled him, ignoring propriety, and bent over him, her hands framing his face while so leaned so that they were nearly mouth to mouth, her hair creating a canopy around them.

"Rochester, what can I do? How can I help you? What happened? Please, let me help you!" She felt something akin to panic before a strange stinging in her arm made her focus on the appendage. A small hole, as if she'd been pricked with a needle, appeared and bled from her arm, and with a scream, Maria Merryweather woke up.

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><p>AN: Thanks to all my wonderful favorite story/author alerts and favorites and the like. I would especially like to thank the lovely people who reviewed. I apologize for the time it took, but I had to decide exactly how I wanted this one to go and I've been rather busy with work. I am going to write another chapter relatively quickly in apology for making you wait. I thank you for your kind words.

-Wildespeaks


	6. The Princess Bride

A/N: As promised. Although, not as quickly as I hoped. Life is taking it's toll on my writing abilities.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Little White Horse and/or The Secret of Moonacre.

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><p>"Her fever has broken; she should be out of the woods." An unfamiliar voice broke the silence of the room as Maria slowly slipped back into a world that she hadn't inhabited in a fortnight. Her vision blurred and she lolled her head, back and forth, attempting to find familiar shapes in the haze that now clouded her vision. Seconds passed and it seemed as though everyone had stilled; she could feel their heavy gazes, studying her every move as she attempted to regain her sanity and break through the confusion that had wrought her mind in turmoil. She stilled herself, not knowing quite where she was, and feigned sleep while also fighting against the urge to succumb to the darkness of it once more. She felt brittle and small because of this, the plague of nightmares and the disconcerting actions by herself and a gentleman that she had never, in her small experience with society, never met in passing. With weak hands she gripped the sheets, tremors running down her arms as she exerted the only force she'd shown in the past several days.<p>

"Is she going to be okay? She's taken to screaming, lately, and it's been hard to make her stop. She's our only niece, we can't lose her and she's been speaking nonsense." Loveday's voice floated through the air to her, her Aunt's tone worn and soft, as if she hadn't spoken much in a while. Maria winced, knowing full well that Loveday had more than likely sat by her side throughout the entire ordeal. She felt the bed dip beside her and a large, warm hand envelope hers, a familiar scent wafting to her nostrils. The smell of cologne and Wrolf's pungent smell immediately set her at ease as her Uncle squeezed her hand, the heat and loving gesture, so little displayed by the somewhat stoic man, making her relax entirely.

"Where on earth could she have contracted this illness? She's only been in London and here since she's been out in society." The hand around her own tightened, but not enough to be painful, and Maria felt all the contentment of earlier leave her as she shot up in bed, the cold sweat she had accumulated throughout her confinement holding her hair to her face. Without preamble she retched, heaving what little her body had allowed her to eat while she was barely conscious. Loveday rushed forward with a wastebasket, as a pair of hands held her shoulders and another pulled her hair out of her face. Another scent, masked slightly by the putrid smell of vomit hung in the air around her. As soon as she was done she was lowered gently backwards, her back hitting the mattress with a soft thud. A soft groan rumbled in her throat, though it came out garbled and raw as her vocal chords had been abused beyond their limits; she must have screamed quite a bit to reach this point.

"There's blood in this too, but not nearly as much as last time she woke." Loveday's voice seemed to break, catching at the end of her sentence, and, although Maria's vision was still blurry, her Aunt turned away, tears running down her pale face. Guilt welled up in Maria's chest, tears trying to fall from her own eyes, but her body refused the action. A small, dry sob fell from Maria's lips and was echoed by her aunt. Her uncle's form came into view and he ushered her aunt away, the door opening with a click as he led her through, seeming to stop and turn to the third person in the room.

"I will look after her, Sir Benjamin." The voice was solemn, but deep, and Maria felt calmed by the evenness of the man's tone. She could see her Uncle's shape tilt its head, in deference to the other man and what she could only suppose was thanks. She lifted her hand, the tremors of before causing it to shake uncontrollably, though not in a frantic way, and she motioned to the other man. She couldn't make him out as well, for the shadows of his part of the room skewed her perception of him the most, but he seemed to be following her inquiry and request. In moments a large hand, the one from before that had held her hair back from her face as she retched, helped her sit up as it rested between her shoulder blades and pushed her up to a semi-vertical position. Another hand brought a glass to her lips, tilting it so that the cold liquid passed through her lips and down her throat. Relief, gratitude, and weariness; she felt them all as she silently drank the proffered liquid, ignoring, for the moment, that she had no idea who this man was. The idea that it might be Robin passed quickly, as he had other things to attend to than a childhood friend and longtime neighbor, and she was at least to able to surmise that he was more than likely the doctor her Uncle had called to take care of her.

The last vestiges of the liquid emptied down her throat, coating it with moisture and relieving some of the dryness and pain, and she motioned for more. The man complied, helping her stabilize herself by propping her up with several pillows and pulling her backwards so that her back could rest comfortably against the pillows and the headboard. Her vision began to clear as the sound of water pouring into a glass was the only sound other than the small fire in her fireplace and both of the room's occupants breathing. Blinking rapidly, she tried to focus her vision, furrowing her brow in concentration before the hand from before handed her the glass, staying to help her steady her grip and bring it to her lips once more.

"Drink this one a little slower; your body might reject it if you continue to drink so quickly." The Doctor, which she had decided to call him until his true identity was revealed to her, was professionally close, but still so familiar it made a small blush rise to Maria's cheeks. She nodded her agreement, slowly sipping on the water as per his request and determined not to look directly at him while he seemed so intent on focusing all of his attention onto her.

"You seem a bit flush, Miss Merryweather. Shall I douse the fire?" Maria colored again, shaking her head slightly as the glass was emptied of its contents once more and lightly taken away. She didn't gesture for more, already having drunk enough to sate her thirst and help her raw throat heal, if only temporarily.

"I am fine, sir. Though, I would ask something of you." Her voice seemed small and was hoarse from lack of proper use and, from what her Aunt had relayed earlier, insistent bouts of screaming.

"That's good to hear, Miss Merryweather. What, pray tell, may I be able to assist you in? Are you perhaps wondering why I am here and who I might be?" The baritone seemed to deepen and Maria ignored how oddly perfect his voice sounded; how familiar it was.

"You are correct, sir. I understand that my Uncle Benjamin seems to trust you, and so I am not suspicious, since he does not trust easily and gets along with few people. Thus, this makes you a very important person, if not a Doctor called in for my welfare, then a trusted friend with some medical knowledge. Although, if the latter were the case, I would wonder at our lack of a chaperone and the sanity of my Uncle, for he is one to always obey propriety….when it comes to my welfare, at the very least." It was if she became a fountain, spouting word after word in her abused voice, her query never ending until she could see a hand help up in a calming gesture, stopping the flow of words from her mouth.

"I am, perhaps, someone you appear to be familiar with, as you have been saying my name repeatedly throughout your nightmares. You seem to believe that I am some sort of beast that has entrapped you and enamored you to myself. I promise, I am neither of those things, though I would hope that you would be enamored with me; our position in life being in need of such feelings." Maria could feel her face pale as her vision cleared, the last of the haze vanishing so that she could see the man sitting to the right of her bed. He was tall, at the very least two meters or relatively close, as he was sitting down hunched over towards her, with slicked back hair that looked so soft she'd almost reached out to touch it. Then there were his eyes, which weren't a strange color like gold, but they were startling all the same, and she could not tell if they were blue or hazel or green. His face was long, with startling cheekbones, and he seemed to be worrying his brow at her study of him, as if he didn't know that she hadn't been able to see him earlier.

"Our position in life, sir…what do you mean? Please, speak plainly. I am not in a state to talk in circles." Maria swallowed, nearly asking for another glass of water, if only to give herself a reason to not speak to the man sitting next to her. He leaned forward in the chair, his tense position of before dropping as he hunched even more, his elbows dropping to his knees and his hands balancing his face in between the pair of them. His fingers moved to cover his face, his eyes disappearing behind eyelids and his pale digits. Her heart ached, suddenly, and without proper reason, at the sight of him looking so defeated, her ears duly noting that a small sob had escaped his lips. With some difficulty, she managed to bring herself forward, propelling herself into a position that gave her the ability to place a placating hand on his shoulder. He stiffened under her touch and Maria withdrew quickly, her arm that was holding her up shaking and weakening, slipping out from under her so that she fell face first into the mattress.

"Oh bollocks!" She hit the mattress hard and colored immediately at the use of an expletive that she swore she'd quit saying after boarding school. She barely registered the soft laughter until her mystery man joined her on the bed, his knee balancing him as he pulled her up and into his arms, which she easily relaxed into. She knew she should be mortified, at how easily she could act improperly in front of this man and trust him to take care of her and not mean her harm, but she couldn't bring herself to mistrust him. No, the sense of familiarity had returned and she felt safe and warm, like she had when her Uncle had placed his hand on her own. It was different, though, with this man; there was a strange, intimate trust that she had with him, and she was quite sure she only had one Uncle left, not two.

"Please, tell me who you are." She requested, looking up, into his eyes as he pulled her backwards, gently positioning her against the headboard once more, instead of against his warm chest. His responding smile was gentle and understanding, though she could see that it pained him that she could not fathom who he was.

"Miss Merryweather…" Here he paused, dipping his head to place a sweet kiss upon her forehead, seeming to not be able to hold back a moment longer. He quickly turned away and strode across the room, his hands finding purchase in their link behind his back as he clasped them. She could see he regretted his loss of self control, but she could not find it in herself to scold him for his improper actions; she chose to blame this on the fact that she had only just recently woken from a severe fever and not from the fact that she had thoroughly liked his plush lips upon her forehead.

"Sir?" He had been still for several seconds and she was anxious, suddenly, to know his full title and the name that she had apparently been repeating through her fitful sleep, which she barely remembered.

"Miss Merryweather—no….Maria," He turned to her and a shiver ran down her spine at the use of her Christian name in his deep baritone, "I am not a doctor, nor am I particularly a friend of your Uncle's, though one day I would wish for that to happen. I would be glad to be as a part of your family as you have been a part of mine." He paused, his eyes seeming to glow as he stood in the shadows of the room, away from the fire and away from her. She resisted the urge to stretch her hand out towards him, instead her hands grasping at the bed sheets once more instead of him.

"Who are you, that you are so familiar?" At this question, he moved forward, the fire reflecting in his eyes making them seem to glow like the monster in her dream's had.

"I am Christopher Rochester, Maria." She felt herself visibly pale.

"Rochester?"

"Yes, Maria….and you, you are Maria Rochester….my wife." Darkness surrounded Maria and she was consumed by it as she fainted.

* * *

><p>"Mar-…..wake….Maria…my darling….Maria…-ake…up….Maria, please!" Maria bolted upright, into Loveday's arms, which instantly wrapped around her and squeezed her tight.<p>

"Oh thank goodness, Christopher had feared that you'd fallen back into a fever dream. He was beside himself with worry. Your Uncle has been unreasonable since he'd run down the stairs in a panic. Once he'd told us what had happened your Uncle had nearly strangled him at upsetting you. You should have seen him, my dear, he yelled "Cat's teeth!' and lunged at the poor man." Loveday's voice was soft, but teasing, and Maria felt color rise to her cheeks and a small smile lift the corners of her mouth. She knew she had reacted poorly to her, apparent, husband's breaking of the news, but she couldn't, for the life of her, remember marrying him. In fact, she could barely remember the past few months, if she were honest with herself. Her blush deepened as the idea that she was married to a relatively handsome man, who seemed to care about her a great deal, yet could not remember marrying him or anything about him was mortifying.

"Oh Maria, what is wrong? Are you feeling ill again? Christopher said the fever broke and hopefully you wouldn't feel too ill after you awoke, but he also mentioned that he was a very poor excuse for a doctor. Which, if Doctor Woodhouse has anything to say about it, is modest of him, but if he feels inadequate, it's understandable. He does not wish to risk your health…oh look at me, rambling on. My dear, what is it?" Maria smiled brightly at her Aunt, having missed her spirit while being plagued by nightmares, and she couldn't help but laugh at how excited her Aunt was to tell her of her husband.

"I assume you approve of him, then?" Maria giggled, unable to control a sly smirk, which more than likely came off as a grimace, and resisted the dizzy feeling that followed. She felt better than before, after a small amount of dreamless sleep, but the feeling that she was better hit her in small waves. She could feel her strength returning, the shakiness of before lessening and her Aunt's warmth surrounding her, chasing away the panic and fearful feelings that she had woken with.

"I do, indeed. He hasn't left your side for the fortnight you've been suffering. He reminds me of someone we both know." At this Loveday smiled brightly, her eyes twinkling mischievously as Maria's jaw dropped in shock before clamping a hand over her mouth and laughing raucously, Loveday joining in, although she sounded like she was cackling. A knock on the door interrupted them and Maria pulled her covers around her, even as Loveday gathered her closer, allowing Maria's head to fall onto her right shoulder.

"Come in!" Loveday's voice betrayed her smile, which Maria was sure was just as playful as her earlier words had been, and she smiled into her Aunt's shoulder, her hair falling over her own shoulder and shrouding their latest addition from her vision. Loveday quieted, but Maria felt her relax, and for a millisecond she thought that maybe Rochester had come to see her. An odd, excited feeling crept up in her, and, although she could not remember the man as well as she would like to and fervently wished to, she had hoped to talk with him more until her memory returned.

The bed dipped behind her and for a second she thought it was maybe her Uncle Benjamin, instead. Edward would probably be banned from her room for a while, if her Uncle had anything to say about it. Perhaps Loveday could introduce him to a few secret tunnels to come visit her? Or maybe, if she regained her strength as quickly as she felt she was, she would be able to visit him.

"Is she asleep?" A cold chill ran through her and Maria stiffened. That was neither her husband's, nor her Uncle's voice. It was someone else's entirely; someone who she had wished to never see again if she could manage it.

"I don't believe so, but that doesn't mean she's not tired. Robin, why don't you go downstairs and we'll talk for a bit and let Maria rest? You've just got in and-."

"No, I'd like to talk to her, please. I know she's awake. Aren't you Princess?"

"Robin-!"

"Don't call me that you vile snake!" A startling fit of rage hit Maria like a ton of bricks and she quickly snapped her head up to face Robin, her eyes flashing with the hatred she had bottled up from years ago. She had never forgiven him, would never forgive him, for playing her for a fool. Robin startled back, looking almost the same as she had last seen him; a picture of youth and a gentleman of the De Noir family. She felt something rise in her, something she hadn't felt since before they sent her to her studies in a London boarding school. It was, as it had been a long time ago when she was young and she had saved the valley from the falling of the Moon, and she clenched her fists and looked away from him.

"Maria, please-!" Loveday sounded heartbroken, but Maria couldn't, wouldn't let go of what he'd done. She knew Loveday loved her brother with all her heart, but Maria could not stand him after he'd let her down for the last time. Her magic gripped at her again and she let go of Loveday, pushing herself out of the bed and away from the two De Noir children in the room. She swayed, but found her feet and began to stalk away, her eyes shut tight in concentration.

'Christopher. Christopher. Christopher. Christopher. Or even Uncle Benjamin. Christopher. Christopher…' She repeated like a mantra in her mind, her nails digging into her skin.

"Maria!" The two chorused and she felt bile rise in her throat as she felt the nearness of Robin as he reached out to steady her. With a small cry of disgust she stumbled backwards, finding herself pressed against a body instead of a wall.

"Maria? Did you…call for me?" An overwhelming surge of fondness and gratitude seemed to bubble up from inside her and she turned in Christopher's arms as he spoke and pulled his face down to hers, his plush lips meeting hers in a kiss the sent a shock through her entire system and curled her toes. A flood of memories flew through her mind, appearing as a play would; her own play that only she was privy to. She gasped into the kiss and she felt Christopher deepen it, their tongues meeting for a moment before loud clearing of the throat was heard. They pulled back as if they had just been caught in the act of a crime and, although she was loathe to look away from him, Maria remembered to blush and chose to see his reaction through the veil of her eyelashes.

"You will excuse me if I am rude, but I fear we have not met and, if I may be so bold, might inquire as to why you are snogging my friend?" Robin's voice held a tone that Maria nearly smacked him for, but instead rounded on him, putting herself in front of Edward like a shield from her former friend's presence.

"Indeed, you may _not _inquire as to why I am _kissing _my _wife_. You _may not _be so bold as to presume what you are presuming, and I do not believe I could stoop low enough to chance you a bow. You have upset my wife, forced her from her sickbed, and offended not only me, but propriety for propriety's sake. My _wife _is not dressed to see any other male company than that of _my own _or her _immediate family_ that she wishes to see. I will, however, introduce myself, even though it is not necessarily a formality that I would wish to endure." A small shiver ran down Maria's spine as Christopher's arm curled around her, pulling her to him so as to shield _her _from Robin. Her magic thrummed against him as he spoke, her eyes slowly falling closed as the warmth and protection that she had felt with her Aunt increased ten-fold with her husband.

She had no idea what had gotten into her, but between whenever she had woken up and learned of his being married to her, an overwhelming familiarity had encompassed her. She felt as though she was once blind, but was regaining her sight by his mere presence. Being around him was a comfort, of this she was certain, and she wished never to be parted from him. The incessant urge to remember him, to remember all that they had done together, how they'd met, their first passionate kiss, welled up inside of her and she couldn't stop her magic from wrapping around him. It had been so long since she'd even felt it, the magic that her ancestor's Moon Princesses had been born with, and it was hard for her to control. Returning home, sick or not, with this man beside her, raging at Robin for his presuming that he could waltz into her bedchamber and be forgiven, ignoring the fact that he was a married man who hadn't asked her permission to be let in, made her feel alive. She had been so alone after Robin had abandoned her, she hadn't even written to her Uncle about it; Robin would have been dead if Uncle Benjamin had known and even Coeur De Noir would have strangled him.

"—I am Sir Christopher Edward-Eaton Rochester, once Captain of the Queen's Guard and I will beg you to please leave my _wife _alone. She does not, apparently wish for your company!" Loveday seemed in awe of Christopher's rage, as his voice seemed to deepen in anger and his arms grew ever tighter around her, pressing her as close to him as humanly possible. She could feel every centimeter of him as he held her and she let out a deep breath as his body heat encompassed her and filled her with a foreign pull that made her want to be as connected to him as possible. She refrained from blushing at the thought.

"Excuse me-!"

"Robin!" Loveday cut him off, grabbing his arm and pulling him from the room as he was about to argue, sending Maria an apologetic glance and what Maria could interpret as a thankful one to Christopher. He lowered his head in understanding to her before focusing all of his attention on Maria as the door shut.

"Maria, my love?" Maria looked up to him, his eyes catching in what little sunlight there was left in the day. Had she really slept for most of it?

"Christopher." She replied simply, her knees growing weak at the look of pure adoration in his eyes. She could feel heat pooling at the pit of her stomach from just his voice and she felt herself get wet at the heat in his gaze. She suddenly felt a renewed sense of being and her former illness seemed to fade in the back of her mind. It could all wait, as far as she was concerned.

"Do you remember me?" His voice was so soft, yet she could hear the hope, and she reminded herself that her body's reaction to him was that of familiarity and that she didn't quite know him yet. She wanted to remember him, to show him that she loved him just as her loved her and then prove it like they would have on their wedding night.

"I remember some of you….and I am enamored with just this little part of you. I want to know you, all of you, and I want to be with you, fully….but there's only small glimpses and a great feeling of familiarity that I have with you. I want you, all of you…" She paused, looking away, fearing that he might take the news poorly. His warm, soft hand cupped her cheek and slowly turned her head so that she would look up at him.

"You will be, when you are ready and I will…continue to love you and take care of you for the rest of your days, whether you love me the same way or not." With that, he bent to kiss her forehead, much as he had done earlier, before guiding her back to her bed.

Laying down in her bed, Maria, with the help of Christopher, pulled the covers over her, and he sat down at the edge so that he could stroke her hair lovingly and watch over her. With a small, contented sigh, Maria closed her eyes, allowing herself to let lose some of her magic and wrap it protectively around her husband. She felt Christopher relax and he seemed to hesitate before moving to stand, his hand leaving her forehead as he did so. With what little energy she had left, Maria grasped his hand and pulled at it enough to garner his attention.

"Christopher?"

"Yes, my love?" She smiled sleepily at his constant use of the phrase, finding nothing but warmth in it.

"Stay with me?...Sleep with me?" She opened her eyes, finding the evident shock in his expression before he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"Always, my dear. I will always stay with you." With those words he released her hand gently and began to undress. Maria closed her eyes unintentionally, but the weight of sleep pulled her eyelids ever so close to being fully closed and she could not fight it for very long. The last thing she felt before sleep overtook her was a warm body climbing into the bed next to her and a pair of strong arms wrapping around her…

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><p>AN: Well, that took me long enough. It's been super hard to figure out how to write this chapter. I think I've started over about a million times. Hopefully you've enjoyed it thus far. In the next I'll actually explain what Robin has done to Maria and why she loathes him so much, along with maybe some actual smut.

Maybe.

Thanks for reading and thanks for sticking with me! Please review kindly if you do at all!

-Wildespeaks


	7. Down the Rabbit Hole

A/N: You asked, I answered. I've been meaning to get this chapter done for a long ass time but I'll explain in a later note as to why it took so long.

Trigger Warning: A sexual assault takes place in this passage, but only in the italicized section. If you were attacked or are very sensitive to this sort of writing (in the sense that it triggers you), please skip the italic part of this story. Basically Robin is a little shit and Christopher is the best. I really have no idea why I don't like Robin that much, but I don't.

Additional A/N: Mature content in this chapter. A semi-detailed sex scene is in here, guys. Be forewarned for smut. My smut is absolute shit. Be forewarned of that as well.

* * *

><p><em>He'd bruised her wrists when he was drunk, as he had done every time from the first to this last time. She'd tried to get away from him, every time, and this time he'd followed her instead of letting her go and laughing mockingly after his "Little Princess." When he'd pressed her against the wall her right wrist had snapped from the force of being held up, over her head and crushed into the bricks behind her. She had screamed, Maria could remember that, and he'd silenced her with his other hand.<em>

_She could remember how frighteningly inconvenient it was that her two wrists had fit in his grasp. She could remember for weeks after she hadn't sought medical help and Christopher had set her bones as best he could and taken care of her. _

_She could also remember the blood from Robin's skin as she viciously bit the hand that he'd used to cover her mouth. She remembered the triumph, even as he backhanded her and screamed at her with the breath of a drunkard. She could remember wondering why he had consented to marry a woman that wasn't her if he'd wanted her so much and feeling nothing but pity for the woman who would marry this De Noir brat._

_She remembered hating him; loathing him._

_Something had changed in him when they'd both been sent to schooling. She hadn't seen him for two years and then he'd shown up, a gambler, a drinker, and an abuser. His fiancée was a sweet maiden who she'd befriended somewhat, but not enough to not feel the white hot jealousy before he'd turned on her. He'd apparently been after another woman like this, but his naïve fiancée knew not, and Maria had no warning for when he came._

_She'd thought it was a folly at first; of her's or Robin's, she knew not then, but now. Now she'd knew, it was ALL him._

_She was drawn out of her reverie by a sharp smack to her face and cruel words. She tried in vain to reach her face, to use her cool hands to sate the sting of the blow, but her poor, tattered wrists only responded with pain._

_He only released them when he went for her skirts. She'd screamed even louder then and out of nowhere._

_Out of the darkness._

_Christopher…._

* * *

><p>"Christopher!" Maria bolted up in her bed, frantic, her braided hair, which she'd not noticed before, smacking her in the side of the face. Bewildered for a moment, she took in the emptiness of the room and almost let out a wail of heartbreak at the thought that she might have dreamt him into existence and out, before strong arms wrapped around her. Maria let the breath she'd been holding escape as she turned in his arms, her legs wrapping around his as he maneuvered them back into the headboard.<p>

"I'm here. I've got you." He'd repeated this mantra several times, she could remember it now, and he'd held her like this every time she remembered being attacked. The night that they'd met, she could recount it now with a clarity that was so startling after what felt like years of fog had taken root in her brain it was a wonder she didn't panic. Instead, she pressed herself into Christopher, his chest warming her back as she let her head loll onto his shoulder, the contentment that seemed permanent around him flooding her. She could remember more about him, after the shocking dream, and something inside her sparked. Whether it was his breath, hot against her neck as he spoke as close to her ear as possible in their current position, or the feel of his arms encasing her, his hands grasping her lightly so as not to scare her, she could not possibly be sure and it mattered little as her knees pulled together in reaction to him. She could feel the heat pooling between her legs and spreading throughout her body, each place he touched her tingling and making her want to move away, while also craving more.

This was the man that would touch her. This was the man that deserved to touch her, because she had decided thusly. This was _her _Christopher, as she was _his_ Maria. No other man would do this to her with his simplest touch and she knew this, like it had etched itself in her brain over time. He was her husband, in every way, and she wanted him. She wanted nothing to do with any other, wanted to wipe away memories of the past with the memories that she would have with him. He was the wolf, the large protector of her fever dream, who scared away those who wished her harm (_Robin_).

Christopher seemed to be having a similar reaction, as she let her hand drop to the place where his thighs met, her hand covering him as she rolled her neck backwards more, her head brushing the pillow behind them slightly.

"Oh _God_…" She moaned so loud she thought she would have woken the whole house, but as Christopher's lips found hers, she was silenced and altogether fine with it. They moved, slowly, languidly, as he pulled her into his lap, his cock half-hard against her posterior. His tongue danced against hers, his left hand reaching up to caress her cheek and hold her mouth to his while the other ran down stomach, heading south to slowly rub the gathering wetness there, and she let out an involuntary gasp of pleasure. She used her left hand to push against the mattress, pressing her even more firmly against him as her right hand went to his now ruffled hair, her slender digits pulling him closer by the silky soft strands.

A growl emitted from her husband, reminiscent of the beast in the valley of her dreams, and she knew then that the beast was not a beast at all, it was him. Her husband, the man who was shifting their position so that she lay against the mattress instead of on top of him and was pulling off his clothing with the haste of a man dying from deprivation of water, was the person she desired most and her mind had transformed into one of her favorite fairytale creatures. He was the Big Bad Wolf to her Red Riding Hood.

Eagerly she sat up, pulling her shift above her head, with the help of Christopher's adept hands as he pulled her lower body into his, his cock straining against his remaining nightclothes while she used this new leverage to pull the cloth over herself and toss it aside. With little care to her recent ailment she arched her back like an acrobat, slowly lowering her shoulders to the bed and pressing her wet clit against the ties of his breeches he'd forgotten to free himself from. His moan was louder than hers and she had half a mind to lean back up to silence him with her mouth, but the freedom and power she felt made her react differently, even with her entire body exposed. She rolled her hips, pressing her wetness to him again, against him with so much insistence that he had to hold her hips in place and brace himself lest he fall off the bed.

"Oh _Maria_…" He uttered her name like a prayer, his deep baritone rattling her to the core, and she shuttered, rolling herself against him as pressure began to build inside her. He stilled her immediately and she closed her eyes, nearly letting out a sob as his body disappeared from between her legs. In mere seconds he was back, pulling her legs up over his shoulders and her husband, her handsome, blessed husband, was pulling his lips to the center of her being and making her go wild. His tongue lapped at her entrance, drinking up every drop of sex that he elicited with his ministrations, neither of them caring if they woke up the entirety of the valley as she writhed and moaned and cried out.

"Oh God, Christopher—oh yes—my love, please, yes—oh _GOD-OhgodChristopher—Yes! Yes! Christopher!_" His name flew from her lips in breathy gasps, as her voice was still ragged from her ailment beforehand, and she could feel herself ready to burst as she grew louder and frantically began to move against his tongue. In response he plunged further into her, licking and sucking and teasing, until she could take no more and she called out his name one last time before she came and her orgasm overtook any rational thought. She barely registered him crawling over her, his body aligning with hers as close as possible with their height difference, so that he could bend down and take her mouth with his. His mouth tasted of her and it sent a thrill through her body, her whole body blushing lightly in a fevered need to be joined to him as she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer. He let out another growling moan that nearly wrecked her, his baritone reverberating through her body they were so close to each other. She let out a keening moan as his lips descended from hers, down her neck, stopping to suckle on her earlobe, before moving down to the crease where her shoulder met her neck.

A knocking on the door, which became insistent in a very small amount of time, interrupted her gasps of pleasure as her husband had moved lower, his mouth enclosing over her right breast and lavishing her nipple with attention. They ignored it, neither of them able to stop at the moment before the knocking became a terrible pounding and Christopher let out a snarl after sitting bolt upright from his position. Maria grasped at the sheets, prepared to pull them over herself, but Christopher instead pulled her to him so that she sat up against him, their chests flush against each other with her legs wrapped around his waist.

"Should I get the door, my love?" He was just as breathless as she was, his chest heaving hard with restraint, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him in for another passionate kiss. The next knock had the person jiggling the door knob impatiently as well and they both separated, Maria joining in with Christopher as she also let out an angry snarl of frustration. In what little light was creeping in from the windows she could see a small, pleased smile upon his face as he held in the laughter she could see dancing in his beautiful eyes. She felt the corners of her lips lift as she was struck with a fit of giggles while he chuckled richly.

"Maria, are you alright?" She could hear Loveday from the other side of the door and knew, then, that they'd have to answer the door or her poor Aunt would run through the manor to whichever secret passage was closest and be met with a naked body the size and shape of Christopher.

"Yes Auntie, I'm fine. Give us a moment, please!" She called softly, trying her best to ignore Christopher as he began to kiss her neck softly. It was uncommonly hard and she could barely focus long enough to utter "Christopher, the door" before he stopped and helped her gather her shift.

"Us? Is…Is your husband in there with you?" Maria had just stood up to answer the door, when she heard the unmistakable "Cat's teeth!" follow Loveday's question. Maria turned to Christopher, who had just pulled his shirt over his face and arms, and covered her mouth to silence her giggles. Christopher pulled his lips thin, trying to stop himself from laughing as he also recognized who else they'd woken up, and he had to turn away from the door as Maria straightened herself and pulled it partially open.

"Yes?" She asked politely with a smile, opening the door just enough to reveal that she was completely unharmed while also hiding Christopher from their view. The last time she had seen the front of his breeches they were not only wet from her sex, but was also tented with his own juices. She preferred to keep her husband's dignity refined and so she raised her brows in impatience, hoping that Loveday at least would understand, and glanced to her Aunt specifically to try and hurry this awkward moment along. If Maria didn't know any better, she had recovered from her illness with an audacity that only her Christopher would have, something she had just recently come to remember, and the fact refreshed her even more. Gone was the simple minded girl of seventeen, no, she was a woman of society.

She could remember now.

She remembered her coming out ball, the marriage procession that her Aunt and Uncle hadn't been able to attend, but the Coeur De Noir had come to her rescue; everything. Christopher's parents had been there, at the wedding, and they were lovely people who had taken to calling Maria 'Daughter' every chance they could. They were with them on the journey to Moonacre, before this trip, and they'd been meaning to come back with them this time. Christopher's parents, her parents now, would come and just in time for her to remember everything.

She nearly laughed outright at the thought of how they'd have followed her Aunt and Uncle up the tower to stop them, how they'd have known because they'd heard it all before. She and Christopher had been caught by them a few times, but her blessed Mother-in-Law, a sweet woman named Saraid, had stopped her husband from questioning them and taken him away. Away from her troublesome son and his naughty wife, a notion she'd taken to calling them after they'd been caught in the library, making love on the desk.

"Maria, are you two quite alright?" Loveday was smiling her knowing smile and it was all Maria could do to not blush in mortification.

"Yes, we are perfectly fine." Maria responded, responding finally with her own smile as she tried to will them both away, back to their bedroom with her magic. She could barely muster it up after her and her husband's antics from earlier, but she felt it grow within her again. Loveday seemed to sense it, being also a former Moon Princess, and she nodded, whisking Benjamin away as he was cut off from the start of what would have been a lecture. Maria forced herself to silence what would have been bouts of loud, obnoxious laughter, and instead waved to their retreating forms before she felt Christopher's body from behind her. She leant backwards, into him, and his hand covered her one that was on the door, lightly pushing it forward to shut it.

"Come back to bed, my love." She turned into him, her magic spreading throughout the tower chamber that was her room to silence the world around them as he leant over her to lock the door. Their chests met again and she felt herself woozy with warmth as his arms enveloped her while her hands found purchase over his chest. His eyes seemed to twinkle in the dim light, his lips curling up at the corners of his plush lips, the cupid's bow of his top lip only accentuating his smile. She nodded leaning up on her toes to kiss him, her tongue darting out to lick the pink, plush skin of his mouth, to which he responded by opening his mouth and drawing her to him. She felt his chest rumble in a pleased purr, his erection from before rubbing against her inner thigh, and she gasped, rutting herself against him in renewed need.

"Come with me, my love." He murmured against her lips, his hands finding purchase under the curve of her buttocks, lifting her up into his arms, wrapping her thighs around his hips and pulling her as close as their returned clothes would allow. With a laughed at his actions, Maria threw her head back and closed her eyes..

* * *

><p>"…..Maria…Maria…..Maria sweetheart, you need to take your medication." Christopher's voice echoed around her and she opened her eyes, only to be blinded by harsh white lights and the padded wall next to her. With a start, Maria jolted backwards, panicked by the sudden change in location and mortified at the fact that all she wore was a thin cotton shift. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she noted the odd black varnish that coated them and appeared to be chipping away with a morbid fascination. It was then that she saw him, through the curtain of dark hair that seemed to fall over her right eye, a man in a white coat kneeling before her with something strange in his hand. It was the same size and shape as the Charcoal tablets Mrs. Digby took for her gas, but she knew instinctively that that was not the same tablet and that she did not have chronic gas. Narrowing her eyes, Maria brushed the hair out of face, taking due note that she was blonde streaks running through it (something she would assess later), to face the man that spoke with her Christopher's voice.<p>

With a startled cry, Maria came face to face with Christopher himself, but with shorter hair and strange dress on. In a fit of confusion and rage, Maria threw her hand forward, forcing him to fly backwards as her magic hit him. The tablet flew through the air and landed in her outstretched hand as if she'd willed it to in the first place. With one look Maria knew, with great certainty, that this IMPOSTER had tried to feed her a tablet that would suppress her magic and, with gritted teeth, Maria crushed the tablet into dust and forced herself shakily to her feet. With unsure steps Maria strode over to the body of the false Christopher, a sneer pulling itself onto her face.

"Fuck you." Were the words out of Maria's mouth before she could stop herself from such impolite speech. Looking around to see if anyone had heard a lady of her status utter such vulgarities, Maria rolled her eyes at her own primness and she quickly stepped over the imposter's body to what she assumed was her 'cell door' and opened it quietly. Glancing from side to side, she took one last look at the fallen man before her, trying to remember to differentiate him from her own Christopher and not let the small pang of regret in her chest grow before she closed the cell door behind her. With a deep breath and a gritting of her teeth, Maria locked the cell door and, with a determined scowl, made her way down the corridor, magic growing in flux around her as she stomped along the concrete prison, her blue eyes unbeknownst to her becoming swallowed by the black of her pupils…

* * *

><p>AN: WELL. THAT TOOK A LONG TIME.

I've not only been promoted once, but quit, then got a new and busier job with a lot more responsibility and also helped out my dad who was pretty ill for a bit and then also not having any idea where I was going with this story UNTIL NOW….well, there yah go.

I apologize for it taking so long. It's been an eventful while and I've only just gotten back into writing. So yay! Update! I'll try to keep these coming at a faster pace. Especially since this thing is so freaking short. I've got the gist of where I'm going now.


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